Voices of Conflict
by Ginger S
Summary: The following story deals with subject matter containing some violence and psychotic actions. Viewer/reader discretion is advised. Jimmy wasn't stupid he knew things were different for him. Until Amber, but those firemen let her slip away.
1. Chapter 1

The following story deals with subject matter containing some violence and psychiatric actions. Viewer/Reader discretion is advised.

This is a collaborative story with a plot suggested by my co-author LK. I would like to thank LK for the idea and for working with me on this story. I would also like to thank AJ for the beta read and editing. I could not have done this story without your help. You guys are the absolute best!

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 1

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Gone was the security Jimmy felt, gone was the organization that helped him feel normal and safe, gone were the regular meals, gone was the clean house, and gone was his desire to be better.

Jimmy Wayne stood in the shadows of the alley beside the dime store. A tall man with jeans that now hung loosely around his gaunt frame he shivered as the misting rain wet his uncombed hair. People milled about in the street protected from the mist by an array of brightly colored umbrellas mere feet from where he stood. He slipped further into the dark space.

Glancing from right to left looking for the source of the constant murmuring he longed for the security he once had. 'They can't get away with this.' He trembled. 'You have to make them pay.' He pushed back against the brick wall. 'They pretend to be good. They weren't good to her, Jimmy. They let her die.' His eyes closed tightly. His hands held firmly over his ears to shut them out, but they were inside and his hands couldn't block their torment.

"Hey get out of here," a grungy man called from the shadows at the end of the alley. "This is my place. Those people are mine to beg from. You need to find another place to roost." Jimmy moved closer to the man slowly curling his fingers around and gripping the pistol in his oversized jacket pocket. "I mean it mister. Go camp out somewhere else." Moving quickly like the jack rabbit his two older brother's had nicknamed him after, Jimmy was on top of the man swinging the butt of the pistol repeatedly quickly bashing in the man's skull silencing the bum before he could give away his hiding place.

Rising from the now quiet man Jimmy wiped his hand and the pistol on the dirty blankets and slipped it back into the pocket from which it came. He gently spread the now bloody blanket over the still form tucking him snugly in for his long sleep. Turning from the gruesome sight he returned to the vantage point he had found to stake out the hardware store across the street.

'They called you Jack Rabbit. That made you mad.' He shook his head to clear away the memories. 'Your parent's thought it was funny. They called you Jack.' His fist hit the rough bricks burning as skin tore away leaving scratches. 'Amber didn't call you that. She loved you even when you were nervous.' He smiled. 'She helped you. Those men let her die.' His shoulders sagged. His head leaned back against the wall. He closed his eyes. A single tear trickled down his cheek.

Amber had understood him. Jimmy slid down the wall crouching in the shadow his thoughts centered on his beloved wife. She had insisted he see the specialists. Jimmy wasn't stupid he knew things were different for him. He'd been a loner for so long. Until Amber that is. She had helped him to change. Amber was the love of his life.

Now she was gone.

He lowered his head into his trembling hands. It felt like it would explode with all the activity inside. He couldn't sleep. He forgot to bathe. He hadn't eaten in days. And now he waited in the shadows. Wanting to find the people the voices wanted him to hurt. He had to do it or they would never leave him alone. They were relentless in their tormenting, pushing him into a world of his own making, a world where everyone was watching him. He knew they were. They were hiding in the air vents, the sewers, around every corner. They were everywhere watching, always watching. He had to do it. He couldn't let them down. They would come for him. He knew it. He had to make the people that let his Amber die pay for their actions.

Then he saw it. The red fire department rescue squad pulled up across the street in front of the hardware store.

Jimmy didn't know if it was the ones he was looking for. He would have to wait and see. He inched forward to the edge of the shadows to get a better view. The driver of the squad got out and walked around the front of the truck. His hair was blond. Jimmy remembered that. This guy's hair was blond. It could be them. The number 51 on the side was correct, but what about the other man? Jimmy waited to see if he was the one, the one who had ridden in the ambulance with his Amber.

He had been tall and thin. Fast, Jimmy remembered that the younger man had moved about really fast. His heart softened a bit thinking about the younger man. Jimmy thought the nervous energy the man exhibited reminded him of his own actions. Could the man have similar problems? If so maybe he could help the man like Amber had helped him. He could give the man medicine, his medicine and see if it calmed the man like it had calmed him. Yes, maybe that would be the thing to do instead of the ultimate thing the voices wanted him to do to make him pay. No if he helped him the voices would never cease.

Looking up from his thoughts Jimmy noticed the second man also had blond hair. It was the right vehicle, but not the right men. Slipping back into the shadows Jimmy decided he would have to set up another opportunity to find the men he sought on another day at a different time. His thoughts were already reeling in his complex mind working to formulate an alternative plan to find the firemen he was looking for.

Charlie Dwyer climbed back in to the squad and called them in as available. His partner Kevin Masterson sat in the passenger seat complaining about false alarms in a way that was similar to his counterpart on the A-shift. "Man I can't believe we wasted all this time coming out here only to find out that no one here called. Who would have called in that a man was hurt just to have us run out here sirens blaring for nothing?"

"I don't know Kev. It could have been a bunch of kids that wanted to see our truck race by with lights and sirens. Don't worry about it. Let's get back to the station and that lunch that was almost ready." Charlie pulled the squad back into traffic and headed towards the station.

Jimmy walked out of the alley unnoticed and disappeared down the street.


	2. Chapter 2

**Voices of Conflict**

Chapter 2

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

It had been several days since he had called in the false alarm at the hardware store. Now he was desperately hoping to see the men that the chatter inside his head kept droning on and on about punishing. Besieged in his waking hours and in his sleep, he was growing tired of the constant noise. Jimmy knew he would have to act soon to stifle the taunts. Sitting obscurely in the far corner of the hospital waiting area Jimmy kept a magazine in his lap, open as though he was reading an article, but instead his eyes scanned the many people coming and going through the automatic doors. So far the firemen had not appeared.

Suddenly they were there. A red truck backed into the bay beside an ambulance. Jimmy squinted to see it through the tinted glass. The number on the back of the truck read 51. The sandy haired man jumped from the back of the ambulance helping to pull a gurney out. Jimmy knew it was the right man. He had the same face, kind and serious. His partner would be in the red truck. Jimmy leaned forward in his seat, his foot tapping to the beat of his racing heart, the magazine slipping from his lap and falling to the floor as the anticipation mounted. He watched as the other man come around the back of the shiny red truck. Wait, the hair was dark, but no the man was not right. He was too short, too stocky, his hair too curly. He was not the same man.

Then Jimmy noticed the gurney as it burst through the doors with the sandy haired man walking beside, his hand resting on the shoulder of the person lying on the rolling bed. He leaned over while he walked speaking softly to the prone man. Jimmy could barely make out the soothing assurances he whispered to the hurt man that everything would be all right.

Could it be? It was hard to tell with the bandages over his eyes, but the hair was dark. His feet hung from the end of the gurney, but his head was near the top. He wore the same blue uniform shirt. It was the man, the one who had taken care of his wife, the one who had let her die. The voices screamed with joy in his ears. He had to force himself to stay where he was, the exhilaration overwhelmed him.

"Mister?" The spell was broken when he heard someone speaking to him. He looked wildly over at a small boy standing beside him holding out the magazine that he had dropped. It took Jimmy a second to realize this was not inside his head. "Mister you dropped your book."

"Thank…..thank you," Jimmy said to the boy. A smile slowly spread across his face as he looked down upon the young boy. "How polite you are to pick it up for me." He quivered in trepidation about his plans and from the sheer pleasure of finally finding the men he sought. The boy was frightened by the look in the strange man's eyes and he ran back to his mother. The mother out of an innate protective instinct did not like the strange way the man's eyes glared at her boy. She took her son by the hand and they quickly left the waiting area. The woman kept glancing over her shoulder at Jimmy as she took her son to safety.

Jimmy had not seen which room the firemen had disappeared into. He gradually eased back down in his seat with the magazine back in place to wait and watch.

In the treatment room Dr. Brackett rinsed Johnny's eyes again with saline. Johnny blinked furiously from the stinging in his eyes, his hands gripping the sides of the gurney to keep from pushing the doctor away. "From what you've told me besides the obvious pain your vision is significantly blurred." Breathing heavily in through his nose and out his mouth trying to slow his breathing, Johnny nodded affirmatively. He could barely keep his eyes open. "I would like to get an ophthalmology consult. The burns to your face are superficial, like a bad sunburn. You've had similar burns before."

Dr. Brackett moved to check Johnny's splinted leg. "Your left tibia is definitely broken, maybe the fibula too. Dixie we'll need x-rays here and a full skull series." Now that Johnny's breathing had almost returned to normal Dr. Brackett pulled his pen light from his lab coat pocket and shined it quickly in each eye. "And that bump on your hard head means you most likely have at least a mild concussion. You, my friend, will be here for a few days. We'll bandage your eyes and let them rest for a couple of days after the consult. I'm guessing by the way you're squinting the light is painful."

"Yeah," Johnny said through gritted teeth.

"Just take it easy until we get some x-rays." Brackett patted Johnny on the shoulder immediately noticing the tension in his body, "then we'll see about something for pain."

"Doc…I uh we…the guys at the station and I…we have a surprise birthday party planned for Cap tomorrow. It's at my place. I…uh…I kinda need to be there. Do ya think…maybe you could let me….um let me go home if um…if Roy stayed with me?"

"Listen Johnny I can't make any commitment until we get that consult, but maybe and I do mean maybe we could arrange for Roy to take you for the day if you promise to come back after the party. Your eyes will need to be bandaged for at least a couple of days and even then……" Dr. Brackett patted Johnny on the shoulder letting him know he had no real answers for him right now.

"O…okay." Johnny's face clearly revealed the worry he felt over the burns to his eyes. He fumbled with the blanket that Dixie had spread over him when she had finished helping him out of his uniform. Knowing the exam room lights would hurt his eyes if he opened them he kept them closed. His head turned away from Dr. Brackett. His shoulders sagged. His forehead wrinkled. "Doc?"

"Yes John?"

"Will…uh…do you think…?" He tried unsuccessfully to keep his voice from cracking.

"I don't know yet John. Don't stress over what we don't have an answer to."

Johnny nodded his understanding. Even Dr. Brackett didn't know the extent of the damage to his eyes. Although he was told not to stress the lines around his mouth and eyes indicated that he already was. The x-ray technician came pushing into the crowded exam room.

"Come on Roy, Chet, Dixie let's get out of here and let them work. Johnny I'll be back in a bit." Dr. Brackett led the way out of the room.

Jimmy watched from his vantage point in the corner. He had seen a flurry of activity coming in and out of the room where they had taken his target. The continuous chatter inside his head questioned the severity of the man's injuries. They sounded cheerful that he may already be paying for his actions with Amber. Jimmy smiled. Maybe he wouldn't have to hurt the man after all. Maybe like he thought before he could help the young man. Formulating a plan in his own mind he decided that he needed to go home and get his medications. The ones that would calm the man who fidgeted nervously like he himself did and his gun…he would need his gun for protection in case someone tried to stop him.

Suddenly there was a strong antiseptic odor wafting through the air. Something about the smell brought back memories of his own stay here at Rampart. Only he was on another floor. He was not sure of the number, but it was the floor where they had put the electrodes on his head and made him bite down on something. He had a faint memory of a flashing light and sudden pain through his head, in front of his eyes and then blackness. He knew nothing of his hospital stay after the treatment until Amber was allowed to visit, but he did remember that there was a waiting area in the hall outside the locked door. It was a nice room with a table and some comfortable chairs, and a TV. That would be a good place to take the dark haired man until his medications calmed him.

Jimmy rose from his seat dropping the now insignificant magazine to the floor again. He walked towards the exit stopping only when he overheard the man in the white coat talking to the sandy haired man.

"I don't know Roy. Johnny's eyes look pretty red. It's not my area of expertise. We'll know something soon. If all goes well tonight then maybe he can have a day pass tomorrow. If you two weren't paramedics it would be out of the question. Let me call you at the station."

"Okay Doc. Tell Johnny I'll check on him on my next run, and I'll bring over something to wear in case he gets to go tomorrow. Cap said my replacement is at the station. Chet and I have to go." Roy shook hands with the doctor and left.

'Day pass' Jimmy thought. He could come here tomorrow and follow Johnny to his home. That would be a better place to take care of him. Smiling as the voices agreed with him he made a decision to come back to the hospital in the morning and follow his project home. He turned and slipped unnoticed from the busy emergency room into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

_We want to say Thank You to everyone who is reading and reviewing our story._

_Mental disorders are a very real part of our world._

_It is true that with medication and treatment a normal life can be attained, but when that security is threatened sometimes bad things result. Sometimes someone else comes along that can help set things straight again, sometimes not. Only time will tell with our character, Jimmy._

_Please keep reading and letting us know what you think._

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 3

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

_Well here I am Fireboy, waiting for you again. Now where is that friend of yours? Where is Roy? Where are you for that matter? That nurse at the desk wouldn't tell me what room you were in. I didn't know your last name, and something about not being family. _Jimmy looked up and down the hallway in front of the elevators his thoughts racing through his head. _How can I find out which floor you're on? _He walked past the entrance to the cafeteria and made an about face.

Turning back toward the elevators as the doors opened his eyes widened in recognition. He could see him sitting there in the wheelchair on the elevator. The pretty nurse from yesterday pushed him out of the elevator and toward where Jimmy stood blocking the cafeteria door. _They'll see me. I'll just grab something from the food line and slip out to the courtyard where I can keep an eye on you._

Dixie wheeled Johnny out to the courtyard. "I think the fresh air will do you some good this morning, Johnny. Why don't you wait right here, and I'll get you some coffee. Would you like something more to eat?"

"No."

"My, my, we're cheerful this morning."

"Sorry Dix, it's just…never mind." Johnny pulled at the string on his hooded jacket.

Dixie brushed the hair from Johnny's forehead in a tender, soothing touch. "I understand. I'll be right back with your coffee. Then I'll have to go check on things in the ER while you wait for Roy. Okay?" Johnny nodded.

Jimmy watched Johnny from his table in the far corner of the courtyard. He had chosen that table, because he could also see the parking lot and could keep his lookout for Roy. He noticed the way Johnny sat with his shoulders slumped, his head bowed. _His eyes are still heavily wrapped with gauze. I wonder if the doctors found something more wrong. Maybe he will need someone to nurse him, someone who can take care of his eyes until they're healed….he seems comfortable with that pretty nurse._

Dixie returned with a steaming mug of coffee. She brushed the hot cup against Johnny's hand. He took the proffered drink. Cuddling the warm mug in his sore hands, he could feel the burning sensation against the already tender skin of his palms. "Thanks."

"I'll be back in a little while." She turned and walked back inside pausing at the door she looked back at her friend.

'We need her.' Jimmy tensed as the voices returned in his head. They had left him alone since he had found Johnny. Now they were back. He shook his head trying to dislodge them from his mind. 'Look at him, Jimmy. He didn't help Amber. He can't help anyone now. We need that nurse to take care of him until he can see you, so he can look you in the eyes when you tell him how he let Amber die.' He swallowed repeatedly feeling and tasting the bile that rose in his throat at the thought of taking not only Johnny, but the nurse as well.

Johnny sipped the hot elixir feeling the scald as it slid down his throat. He shivered. He was dressed in the fire department t-shirt, sweats and jacket Roy had brought by sometime last night. Dixie had helped him into the clothes a little while ago before wheeling him down here to wait for Roy. It was warm, but he shivered beneath the jacket. His heart raced. His questions about his eyes unanswered. Worry about his vision consumed his thoughts.

Jimmy watched him as he turned to set the cup on the nearby table. He moved the cup in the air, up, over, and up three times before getting the cup on the table. He watched a veil of sadness sweep over Johnny as he lowered his head to his chest and dropped his hands in his lap. He stayed like that for a while, not moving, but then Jimmy watched him slowly raise his head and lean it back letting the morning sun wash over his face.

Roy come through the doorway and stopped glancing around the now crowded area. His eyes settled on Johnny. Even if he couldn't see his best friend's expressive eyes Roy could tell by the way the corners of Johnny's mouth sagged and his uncharacteristic stillness that he was disturbed about his current helplessness. Deciding he would grab a cup of coffee before joining Johnny, Roy turned back into the door.

Jimmy watched as Johnny probed the table for his mug. Finally finding it he raised it to his mouth. Taking a drink he wrinkled his face in obvious distaste, it was cold. He returned the cup to the table. Then Jimmy saw Dixie walk over taking the now cold coffee from him replacing it with another hot mug.

Johnny heard someone walk over and move the cup.

He smelled fresh coffee mixed with another familiar scent, perfume. The same perfume he associated with comfort, protection and love, Dixie's perfume. He reached for the coffee but instead felt the familiar soft hands wrap around his. Immediately he knew that if he took the bandages from his eyes he would be looking into big blue eyes filled with worry….for him. Dropping his head, he wondered sometimes why she bothered with him.

He felt her closeness as she bent down next to him and placed her gentle hand on his knee. He smiled sheepishly. She knew he understood. She lovingly brushed the hair from his face; stood up, patted his shoulder, looked over at Roy and winked, then went back inside.

Roy took that as his cue to approach Johnny. As he came closer Johnny tilted his head up towards the sound of someone approaching. A lopsided grin spread across his face. "Pally?"

"Yes Johnny it's me. How did you know?"

"I could hear your walk. I'd know your walk anywhere." He smiled up at his best friend.

Roy took a seat. He leaned back in his chair sipping his coffee and looking around the patio at the other occupants. One man in the far corner seemed familiar to Roy. He must be visiting someone. Maybe he had been with one of the patients on one of their calls.

Jimmy noticed the sandy haired man looking at him. He purposefully looked away at that moment. He didn't want to be remembered. He had yelled at the two medics after being told his Amber had not survived. He had lashed out at them with words that would have embarrassed his love.

The voices admonished Jimmy for looking away. 'Face your enemy,' they taunted. 'Look him in the eyes and let him know you are ready to get even.' Jimmy couldn't do that. He couldn't look into the eyes of the kind man. He just couldn't. It was the dark haired man, Johnny that had let her die. The blue eyed man was kind, caring. Jimmy didn't want to hurt Roy. The voices did, but Jimmy didn't.

Not wanting to stare, Roy looked back over at Johnny.

"Yep. Chet, Mike and Marco are going to meet us at your place. Everyone else will be there in a couple of hours and Cap is due around four. I told him Dr. Brackett was going to let you come home for dinner and you wanted us all to be there. Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"That sounds fine Roy. I think Brackett and Dixie will be by for dinner, but they might not get there before Cap. Brackett said he could bring me back after dinner if you needed to do something else. I'm just glad we didn't have to cancel the party."

"Johnny what did they say about your eyes?"

"Too much swelling to be sure, maybe tomorrow."

Not wanting to upset his friend and wanting this to be a good day for all of the A-shift especially Captain Stanley, Roy kept his other questions to himself. Johnny had worked very hard to put together this surprise party. He had done something similar for Dixie's birthday last year and had gotten hurt earlier in the day and missed it. No one wanted him to miss this party. "Let's go Roy. I want to get home."

Jimmy gathered his trash and dumped it into the receptacle. He hurried past the two firemen. He wanted to get into his car and be ready to follow the men. He wanted to know where Johnny lived, his excitement mounting with every movement he made to silence the demanding voices permanently.


	4. Chapter 4

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 4

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

He felt the familiar turn; heard the crunch of gravel beneath the tires. Reaching over he rolled down the window and leaned his head out breathing deeply through his nose. He smelled the horses, the hay, and the memorable scents of home. A contented smile spread slowly across his face. Passing the corral he heard the horses beside the fence. He couldn't see it, but he knew went they reached the end of the drive and pulled up beside the house. "Thanks Roy."

"No problem Junior. Let me get your chair and I'll help you out." Roy put the car in park, stepped out, walked around to the passenger side, and pulled open the back door to get the wheel chair out. Johnny already had his door open and was turning to get out. "Wait Johnny, you don't want to hurt your casted leg." Johnny sighed and stopped moving. Roy helped him out and into the chair.

"Is anybody here yet?" Johnny turned his head as if looking around, but not seeing with the heavy bandages on his eyes.

"No, not yet, but Chet, Marco and Mike should be here any time though."

"Roy do you mind taking me out back. I want to sit outside for a while?" He raised his hand and pointed to what he thought was the side of the house. Roy pushed him in that direction.

"You want to go up on the deck?"

"No the hammock, I might take a nap. I'm kinda tired from the trip out here." Johnny rubbed his temple.

"Do you have a headache Johnny?"

"A little, but it's not that bad."

"I'll get you some Tylenol."

"It's okay Roy. I think I just need a nap. I'll get some later if it's not better." Johnny tried to sit up taller so he looked like he wasn't hurting that much. Roy saw through the act, but he would honor Johnny's request for now. He set the brake on the chair and helped Johnny into the hammock. Neither man noticed the figure moving quietly through the woods just a few yards from the hammock. They hadn't heard the breaking branches under his feet. They were too busy with their own movements. Once Johnny was settled in the hammock Roy left him to his nap and went to start setting up for Hank's party.

Jimmy stood very still hiding behind the big tree. He watched as other men started arriving. Folding chairs and tables were set up. More people came out of the French doors that led from the house to the deck. Women milled among the men. Jimmy watched Roy when a pretty petite brown haired woman walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. He watched the two in a loving exchange of kisses. _'He must be married. I can't take him from her like my wife was taken from me. It hurts too much. They're obviously deeply in love. Amber loved me like that. I loved her even more.' _Jimmy was lost in his thoughts for a while as Johnny slept.

After about an hour Johnny began making the normal stirrings of someone waking up. That brought Jimmy back from his thinking. He stepped back a little so he wouldn't be noticed. Johnny heard the crunch on the forest floor of movement. "Who's there?" He listened intently and held his breath so he could hear. Jimmy stepped further into the darkness. He too held his breath. "Who is it? I know you're there. Chet if that's the phantom I'm not in the mood." Jimmy struggled to hold in the breath he knew Johnny might hear. Johnny shifted in the hammock trying to tell where the noises were coming from. "I know you're there. What do you want? Why are you messin' with me? It's not funny. You know I can't see you."

Jimmy slowly let out his breath. Johnny sat up alertly. Jimmy took one more tentative step backwards. He couldn't stifle the cough that came out. Johnny jerked in the direction of the noise causing the hammock to tilt and he fell to the ground half twisted up in the hammock and half on the ground. Not being able to see and still startled from the presence of someone who wouldn't reveal themselves, Johnny was a little disoriented when Roy and Chet ran over to help him. He was breathing too fast and his arms were reaching out trying to grab hold of the fabric that was twisted around his cast. Others came over to make sure Johnny was all right. The noises from all the activity gave Jimmy the opportunity to slip into the woods and find a new hiding place to watch from near the barn.

"Johnny are you okay? Are you hurt?" Roy checked Johnny's neck and spine.

"I'm okay Roy I can't get my leg out of this mess."

"Don't struggle Gage we'll get you up," Chet commented as he untangled Johnny's leg.

"Chet, was that you?"

"What are you talking about?" Chet stopped long enough to look over at Johnny who was trying to rise up. Roy held him down.

"In the woods, there was someone in the woods. They wouldn't answer when I asked who it was. I thought it was…." Johnny didn't finish the sentence. He realized he was sounding like a frightened child.

Mike went over and looked around the edge of the woods. He turned and nodded to the group to let them know he hadn't found anyone.

"It must have been an animal or a dream Johnny." Roy patted his shoulder to try to calm his friend.

"No Roy there was someone there. I heard them. They even coughed. I know there was someone there." He hit his fist on the ground. "You don't believe me, but I know. I know there was someone. You think because I have these bandages on my eyes that I don't know when someone is watching me!"

"Calm down Junior. Let's just get you up." Roy and Marco got on either side of Johnny and lifted him under his arms. Chet lifted the casted leg. Together they were able to get him into his wheel chair. "Hank will be here in a little while. Let's get you up on the deck and get you some Tylenol and something cold to drink."

Johnny didn't speak. He knew they didn't believe him.

Jimmy now hid behind the barn and watched the scene unfold before him. _'They think he imagined it. They don't believe he heard anything in the woods. They don't know I'm here.'_ He leaned against a tree satisfied with himself for not getting caught. Now he would wait and watch. The party was in full swing now. More people had arrived. Jimmy recognized the doctors and the pretty nurse when they got out of their cars. She looked even better in regular clothes. He watched her go straight over to Johnny. She placed one hand on his good knee and the other on the back of his head as she bent down and kissed him on the cheek. Johnny knew it was her. He recognized her soft touch and her perfume. Jimmy watched them together.

Then the voices that had left him alone all morning made themselves known. _'You could have taken him in the hammock when he and Roy were the only ones here. A rock or limb could have been enough for you to knock him out. What were you waiting for? Now he has a hundred people here. Now we just have to sit out here in the woods like an animal.' _Jimmy tried unsuccessfully to shut the voices out.

'_Look at that nurse. She cares a lot for him. He doesn't deserve that fondness. He doesn't deserve any love. We don't have any anymore. He took Amber from us. He stole our love.' _Tears ran down Jimmy's cheeks. He sat down and leaned against a tree. Curling his knees up to his chest he held his head in his hands and lowered it to rest on his knees. '_But he needs to see us when we do it. Maybe that pretty nurse can help make his eyes better. We need her to help us.' _Looking up Jimmy nodded his head. He didn't want to hurt the nice lady. She helped people. It wasn't her that let Amber slip away. It was Johnny. "No," he whispered aloud. '_We'll have to take her too. Now we just need to figure out how to do it. How can we get him away from all these people? We'll have to wait here in the darkness until we get the chance. Patience Jimmy, you have to be patient.' _


	5. Chapter 5

**Voices of Conflict**

**Chapter 5**

By GCS and LK

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Dixie could tell that Johnny was tense. Normally it would show in his eyes, but even with them covered in gauze she could see the tightness in his jaw line. "Johnny is something wrong?" She whispered in his ear.

"No Dix, why would there be? I'm at home with all of my friends having a party for Cap. What would possibly be wrong?" He tried to smile, but it didn't quite come off the way he hoped it would.

"John Gage you're a terrible liar."

"It's okay Dix, I don't want to be the center of attention today. We'll talk about it later."

"Okay Johnny, but you let me know if you start feeling bad or tired. I don't want you overdoing it today. I'll see that you get inside and in a bed to rest if you need to." Dixie kissed his cheek again before standing up and greeting the other guests. She planned to keep a close watch on Johnny.

The yard was full of people, some Hank's family, some friends, many firemen, even Chief McKonnikee. Jimmy decided he would mingle among the crowd and see if he could pick up any information about Johnny from them. There were so many people there that he guessed no one would suspect he didn't belong. Walking up to a group he stood listening for a few minutes.

"Hello I don't believe we've been introduced. My name is Beth Stoker and this is my husband Mike. Are you friend or family?"

"I uh….I'm neither actually. I'm here with a friend. I think he may be family." _'__What do I do?'_ he thought _'She'll want my name.' _He felt panicked_. 'What was I thinking? I should have planned this out better. I'll give her Amber's brother's name. That way they won't find me.' _

"And your name?" Beth smiled at him.

"Joe, Joe Sanders."

"Nice to meet you Joe, are you hungry? We have plenty to eat. Come on over to the deck and fix yourself a plate." She took him by the arm and led him to the food.

Hank saw Beth with a man he did not know. "Hey Chet who is that guy?"

"I don't know Cap. Maybe he's one of your relatives. I have so many cousins I can't count them all much less call them by name."

"Maybe, but there is something familiar about him; I just can't place it." Hank scratched his head as he tried to remember where he had seen the man before.

When Jimmy stepped onto the deck Beth led him across in front of Johnny. Johnny immediately noticed the man's aftershave. It was the same odor he thought he smelled when he was in the hammock. He sat up straighter and tried to listen to the voices as they passed by. There were just too many people around him talking, and with his eyes covered he couldn't make heads or tails of who it was or where they had moved to. He just knew. The hairs on the back of his neck rose.

Dixie had noticed Johnny's movement and wandered over to his side. She didn't say anything. She didn't have to. Again Johnny smelled the floral scent of his favorite nurse. "Hey Dix do you think you could get me a plate?"

"Of course Johnny. Why don't we go over by the table, and I can tell you what all is there. That way you can pick what goes on your plate." She moved to his side and released the brake on his wheel chair. Careful not to bump anyone with his casted leg, she pushed him toward the food. "Let's see there's chicken or steak."

Johnny was distracted and didn't answer her. He was searching the area for the scent that had assaulted his senses. He was unnerved for some reason, but he wasn't sure why. Could that have been the person in the forest?

"Johnny?" Dixie became worried at his sudden silence. His head was down and tilted slightly to the side. "Johnny?" she asked again. "Steak or Chicken?"

"Uh sorry Dix," he stumbled over his words. "Chicken's fine."

"Johnny what is going on with you today?"

"Nothin'. Is there any deviled eggs? I love deviled eggs." He tried to change the subject again.

"Yes and baked beans, and potato salad. I know you'll want those." She continued to fill his plate.

Beth and 'Joe' came around the table and up next to Johnny whose head immediately shot up. He smelled it again. "Oh hey Johnny, this is Joe he is here with a friend of his, a relative of Hank's. I brought him over for some food."

Johnny listened intently to the breathing patterns of the man. He felt certain it was the person in the forest, but why had he been hiding, watching him. Johnny held up his hand to shake the hand of the curious man he could not see. "I'm John Gage, nice to meet you. This nice lady fixing my plate is Dixie McCall."

"Nice to meet you both." Jimmy quickly shook hands with Johnny. "I'm going to find a spot to eat. Thank you for letting me crash your party."

"Why don't you eat over here on the deck with me?" Johnny hoped to get the man to himself so he could try to find out a little bit about him.

"Well I need to find my friend, but thanks anyway." Jimmy walked quickly away. Beth returned to her husband and Dixie took Johnny and his plate back to where he had been earlier.

"Do you need me to help you with your food?"

"No Dix, I think I want to go inside. I can pull up to the table in there out of the way." Johnny wanted to eat in private. He didn't want everyone watching him eat. He knew he might make a mess and hated to be the center of attention.

"Roy could you help me with your partner? He wants to go inside."

Roy immediately came over concerned about his friend. "You okay?"

"Yeah Roy, I just want to eat inside where no one is watching me spill my food." Johnny chuckled trying to hide his worry about the strange way he felt about 'Joe'.

"Okay Junior let's get you inside." He opened the French doors that led to the kitchen, turned Johnny around and pulled the chair inside. He moved the chairs to make room for the wheelchair and pushed him up to the table. Dixie placed the plate in front of him.

Outside Jimmy took his plate of food and slipped through the crowd pretending to be looking for his friend. The voices in his head began their murmuring. _'You almost screwed this up Jimmy. You should have stayed behind the barn. What were you thinking?_ He tried to shake off their torment as he continued walking until he was out of sight from the party goers. Once he moved around the front of the house he again moved to the place behind the barn where he could eat the food and watch over John Gage. _'At least now our nurse has a name, Dixie, it's a good name. She's pretty Jimmy. Pretty like Amber. Maybe we won't have to hurt her. Maybe we can let her go after she takes care of John Gage for us. Once she removes the bandages, and he can see we can let her go."_

Hank ducked into the kitchen to have a minute alone with Johnny, "Hey Pal I wanted to thank you for the surprise party. This is great."

"You're welcome Cap. I'm glad we didn't have to cancel it after…." He didn't finish. He simply waved his hand over himself in explanation. "It sounds like everybody in LA is here." He chuckled.

"Well John I guess you can hear the size of the crowd. I wish you could see it. There are so many people here I don't think I can thank them all for coming. I don't even know them all. I saw a guy with Beth that looked familiar, but I can't figure out where I know him from."

Johnny wondered if the man Cap was talking about was the same man he thought was in the forest.

"What'd he look like Cap?"

"Huh?"

"Maybe if you described him to me I might know him."

"Don't worry about it John, I'm sure I'll get a chance to find out before I leave. It's early yet."

"Oh….okay Cap." Johnny didn't want anyone to think he was crazy. He just had a feeling something was amiss with 'Joe'.

Out behind the barn the voices kept up a constant babble in Jimmy's ears. _'We could keep her. She would take good care of us like Amber did. We could take her far away from here. We'll need to leave anyway once we take care of that fireman.' _Jimmy threw his half eaten food against a tree, put both hands on his head and squeezed his eyes shut trying to block out the babble. "Stop it. Stop it. Please," he whispered to himself. "I don't want to hurt her. I don't want to replace Amber. I only want him to suffer for letting her die, just John, just Fireman John Gage."


	6. Chapter 6

**Voices of Conflict**

**Chapter 6**

By GCS and LK

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Hank's surprise birthday party continued on until late evening.

More guests came and left.

The kids played a huge game of dodge ball in the yard. Some of the "bigger" kids joined in on the game. Chet was the biggest kid out there. If Johnny hadn't been injured he would have been right there beside him.

Things began to settle down and most of the people still there were the familiar A-shift crew and their families and close friends.

Johnny had grown very quiet. Anyone who knew him well was aware that for Johnny to be that quiet he either had a lot on his mind or he was extremely tired.

With his eyes still covered from his injuries the day before it was hard to tell.

Dixie came over beside him. He felt her presence. "Hey Dix," he said quietly.

"You okay?" she asked him as she placed her hand on his forehead pretending to brush his hair back, but actually checking for a temperature.

"I don't have fever Dix," he tiredly told her with a deep sigh.

"I can tell, but you look like you need a break from all this activity. Why don't you let me help you inside to lay down while things finish up out here?"

"Okay." Johnny didn't have the energy to argue. He was tired and the events of the day had stressed him out. He still did not understand why someone would be watching him, and he still wondered if it could have been the same person with Beth on the deck?

"I'll be right back." Dixie walked away to find Roy.

Together Dixie and Roy took Johnny inside to the spare bedroom on the first floor. Once he was settled in bed for a nap, they returned to the party.

Jimmy had been watching from his spot behind the barn for hours. The voices that plagued his mind had quieted, and he was left temporarily with his own thoughts. _'These people are very close. They have enjoyed being here together for the whole day. I could have had that with Amber. I could have had many friends. When she was alive we did things, went to parties. It's not fair that this guy has so many friends, and I'm alone.' _

Tears slid silently down his cheeks. _'There he is sitting up there on the deck with everyone waiting on him hand and foot. Well he is injured. It's kind of hard to do much with your eyes covered and your leg in a cast.' _

Chet threw the dodge ball and missed. It bounced into the woods by the barn. Chris Desoto ran after it. He spent a lot of time at Johnny's and was not afraid to go into the trees around his yard. The ball came to rest near the tree where Jimmy hid. He tensed, picked up a large stick holding it in the air ready to strike, and held his breath.

Chris ran over and grabbed the ball quickly turning back toward the yard he threw it.

He hesitated for just a minute before returning to the yard. He thought he heard something.

Looking around thinking it might be a rabbit or something, he stepped closer to the big tree he was near. It would be fun to chase a rabbit.

"Come on Chris," Chet yelled. "We need your help out here."

Chris gave up his pursuit of the noise and ran back to the game.

Jimmy lowered the stick and let out the breath he had been holding.

He settled back against the tree he'd been hiding against. After a while he drifted off to sleep.

"Is Johnny alright?" Hank asked Roy when he rejoined the group of friends now gathered on the deck.

"Yeah, he's just worn out."

"Do you think we need to get started cleaning up?"

"I think that would be a good idea, but I think we should wait a while before we start taking things inside; give him a chance to fall asleep. I'll check on him in a few minutes to see if he's out. Then we'll get started." Roy grabbed another beer and found a deck chair. The few minutes turned into another hour before he checked on his best friend.

Finding that Johnny was indeed asleep and soundly, Roy and the others began the arduous task of cleaning up.

"Kel, why don't we just let Johnny sleep here tonight? I'll stay here with him and bring him back to the hospital in the morning. I'll ask Roy to come by and help me get him loaded in the car," Dixie suggested.

"I think you may be right Dixie, it has been a long day for everyone," Kel Brackett agreed. "I could come out and help you."

"I think Roy would want to check on him anyway."

Dr. Brackett laughed at the thought, "I think you're right. Okay I'll see you at the hospital in the morning then."

Between Hank's men and their families Johnny's yard and deck were returned to their normal state. The tables and folding chairs that he kept for parties were all stored away, and the food all covered and packed away.

Joanne had made up several meals from the leftovers and had put them in Johnny's freezer for when he returned home from the hospital. The kitchen was cleaned and everyone said their goodbyes.

The Desoto family was the last to leave. Joanne had wanted to help make Dixie comfortable. She showed her to one of the spare rooms upstairs, turned down the bed and set out fresh towels in the guest bath.

"Thank you Joanne. We'll be just fine now," Dixie hugged her friend. "Roy if you could swing by tomorrow sometime. I'm off, so there's no rush even if it's noon or after. He'll probably sleep late anyway." She walked them to the door.

Roy carried his sleeping daughter in his arms. Chris yawned deeply. "I think your kids will sleep late too," Dixie smiled at the two children.

"Okay Dix, I'll see you tomorrow," Roy said as he stepped off the porch.

Dixie locked the front door and headed to take a much needed bath. She wanted to soak in the tub for a while. She'd enjoyed herself today, but she was tired. A long hot bath was exactly what she needed.

Outside behind the barn the sleeping man woke to a cacophony of voices screaming in his head. _'Why are you sleeping? What were you thinking? They've all gone. You missed your chance to get him. You're stupid Jimmy. You should have done it while he was in the hammock. You could have ripped those bandages off and done it then. No one was watching him. They were too busy to notice. Now you've really messed up. He's gone back to the hospital and you'll have to go there. You'll have to find a way to get him there.'_

He stood and looked around the darkened yard. Everyone was gone, the house dark.

He rammed his hands in his pockets and hung his head to his chest.

Slowly he began to walk around looking at the orderliness of the once crowded yard. Everything was put away. He noticed that Johnny's home was very well kept. He must have been very proud of it to keep it so nice.

'_If he hadn't let her die you could have had a nice place like this. You should go inside and see what it's like. Maybe you could still take him and that nurse and bring them here. Maybe you can set things up for when you do. Yes you should break in and get ready.' _The voices started again.

"I don't want to break in. I want to go home," he spoke aloud to the darkness.

'_You can't go home. You haven't done what you came here to do. You need to get inside and arrange things to bring him back here. It's the perfect place to end it.'_

Realizing the voices were right, Jimmy decided to see if he could get inside.


	7. Chapter 7

**Voices of Conflict**

**Chapter 7**

By GCS and LK

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Slowly coming to awareness, Johnny woke from a deep restful sleep.

He stretched his arms and neck and scratched his hip. It felt stiff from the weight of the cast.

With his eyes still bandaged he couldn't tell if it was still daylight or if it was dark. One thing he did know, it was quiet. _'The party must be over. They must have let me sleep,'_ he thought to himself. "Roy," he called out thinking that Roy had probably stayed with him. There was no response.

In the kitchen Jimmy suddenly smiled. He reveled in his luck. First the window had been unlocked allowing him access inside, and now his luck had increased. The voices in his head chanted with glee. _"He's here!" _

Johnny heard a noise in the front of the house. "Roy," he called again a little more loudly. Still he got no response.

Feeling a little uneasy he reached out trying to find the wheel chair he knew Roy would have left nearby.

He couldn't help but feel a little nervous about the lack of response.

Shaking off what he perceived as his own ridiculous thoughts, he grabbed the arm and pulled the chair close to the bed. The metal of the chair arm was cold_. _He struggled to get the chair in place. If he could just maneuver to the edge of the bed he could slide into the chair without putting pressure on his casted leg.

Dixie stirred. In her sleep fogged brain she had heard a noise. The house grew quiet again; she snuggled back into the warmth and drifted back to sleep.

Jimmy moved to the hall, he stood very still and waited.

He listened, breathing quietly.

"_He's here Jimmy. Go get him. Make him pay." _ The voices urged him on. _"Make him remember your wife. Tell him why he has to suffer. Go Jimmy. Go get him."_

Jimmy inched gradually down the hall, his excitement building uncontrollably.

He heard a noise in the room where he hoped John Gage was. He stopped, waiting. His hand pressed against the wall steadying him. He stood completely motionless, holding his breath.

The door to the room opened slowly as Johnny tried to keep it from hitting against the wheel chair. It was not an easy task with his eyes covered. After several tries with the door repeatedly banging the wheel he got it open. "Roy, come on man where are you?"

A wicked smile spread slowly across Jimmy's face.

There he was, the man he had been trying to figure out how to grab, there he was right in front of him; right where he wanted him to be.

He let out the breath he'd been holding.

Johnny stopped as soon as he got the chair into the hall. _'Someone's here. Something's not right.'_

He tilted his head upward, pausing as he slowly breathed deeply through his nose. He smelled it.

He knew he was not alone anymore.

The hair stood up on the back of his neck; his body tensed.

"Who's there?" he smelled the aftershave again sending tension down his spine. His hands trembled. He gripped the arms of the chair more tightly. "What do you want?"

Dixie heard voices downstairs. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Glancing over at the clock on the bedside table she wondered who would have come over this late. It was almost midnight. _'Whoever you are you had better have a very good reason to be disturbing Johnny at this hour.'_ Sliding from beneath the warm blankets she reached for her clothes.

Jimmy stepped forward. "You'll find out soon enough Fireman Gage."

Johnny didn't move. His mind reeling. He'd heard that voice before, but where?

"_Take him in the front room. Pull those bandages from his eyes and let him see us. Let him remember Amber. Tell him what he did to her, to us. It's time Jimmy, time to make him pay." _The voices assaulted his brain. "Let me handle this." He shook off the noise and stepped closer to Johnny, "Now you will do what I tell you to do, understand?"

'_Who is he talking to? Is there someone else here? Where's Roy. He wouldn't leave me here alone like this. Is he hurt? Did they hurt him?'_ Johnny's thoughts raced through his head. He had to get a handle on things. He had to figure out what was happening. He sat up straighter in the chair with a new resolve.

"What do you want?" Johnny asked again.

Jimmy grabbed the arm of the chair whipping it around so he could grab the handles.

Johnny batted at the air trying to make contact with the man he couldn't see. The swift movement made his hurting head spin, but he successfully landed one blow.

The impact only made him jerk the chair harder causing Johnny's casted leg to bump the wall sending white hot pain through his body. He gasped and cried out.

Dixie heard the loud noise and dressed more quickly. She was alarmed at the cry of pain she heard from Johnny. She ran down the stairs stopping in her tracks as she saw a strange man in the hall with Johnny. Trembling in sudden fear she yelled out, "What are you doing?"

Jimmy turned and lunged at Dixie.

"_She here too! Oh Jimmy you couldn't have planned this better. Get her. Stop her from getting away."_

Jimmy reached Dixie and pushed her to the floor. Surprised, Dixie didn't have any time to react.

She fell hitting her head against a table.

"Dixie!" Johnny screamed and tried to get down the hall, the pain still coursing up his broken leg, the air rushing from his lungs. When Dixie didn't answer he thought she might have hit her head. Behind the gauze tears stung his eyes. "Don't hurt her. Please! Whatever it is you want with me. Don't hurt her. Dixie?"

Jimmy turned around and backhanded Johnny stunning him.

Johnny's head whipped back from the impact, the movement causing bile to rise up in his throat. He gulped it back and swallowed several times. _'Oh God not now, Dixie needs me. Have to stay alert. Not now. I can't lose it now.'_

Jimmy scooped Dixie's limp body up and took her over to the couch. _'She's light like my Amber, soft, pretty. I wish she hadn't hit her head. I never would have hurt Amber…but the fireman he's a different story. He should have helped her.'_ Turning back to Johnny he walked over and whispered in his ear, "Now Mr. Fireman, you will do exactly as I tell you or she will pay in your place. Got it?"

Johnny slowly nodded his head. He had no clue who this man was or what he had done to cause him to be here now, but he didn't want anything to happen to Dixie. "Okay." His shoulders slumped. His hands fell to his lap; his head hung to his chest.

Jimmy reached into his pocket and pulled out the prescription bottle slowly turning it reading his own name. Going to the kitchen he got a glass of water and returned to Johnny's side. "They wanted me to take care of you now, but I want to try to help you calm down first. You will take your medication now." He poured the tablets into his hand. Normally he took one a day, but thinking his captive was too upset he decided on at least two. "Open wide, I'm going to try to help you. I want you to understand that I want to help you see what caused this to be needed. You need to know what happened," he said more gently than he had before.

Johnny knew he was in trouble. "What is it?"

Jimmy overtaken by rage, back handed Johnny again. "Don't ask questions. Just take your meds." He sat the water on the table, grabbed Johnny's face and forced his mouth open pushing the pills down his throat. Then he held his mouth shut until he was forced to swallow them.

Johnny struggled weakly, feeling panic overwhelming his thoughts. He pulled at the hands that held him.

Johnny gasped for breath. He had fought against the stranger, but in his weakened state and still reeling from the pain in his leg, blinded by the bandages on his eyes, and his concussed head pounding from the blows, he was no match.

"Now you will begin to feel better soon. Just relax. We have a lot to talk about when your meds settle your nerves." Jimmy walked back into the kitchen. He was thirsty. Fighting with Johnny had taken a lot of energy. He opened the refrigerator. There wasn't much to choose from, milk or beer. He grabbed a beer. Twisting off the cap and drinking several gulps he turned to face his captives.

Johnny was trying to move closer to the couch. The coffee table was in his way. He leaned forward and reached out trying unsuccessfully to push it out of the way. Jimmy watched him. He could see the tightness around Johnny's mouth, the strain etched on his face and the muscles tighten in his neck as he struggled with the table. _'He's trying to get to her. He cares a lot about the nurse, Dixie. He would sacrifice himself for her. Maybe I was wrong about him.'_

He opened the refrigerator again and grabbed a second bottle. He twisted off the cap and took it over to Johnny. He pushed the bottle into Johnny's hand, "Drink this. It will make you feel better."

Johnny brought the cold sweating bottle to his mouth, smelling the distinct odor; knowing it was beer he took a drink needing something to wash down the pills that seemed stuck in his throat.

He reached up to the bandages on his eyes and pulled at them. Jimmy grabbed his hand. "No not yet. When I say it's time."

Jimmy settled in Johnny's recliner to wait for the meds to take affect.

The voices started a low chant, repeating over and over in his head, _'He killed her. He let her die. He's not what you think he is. He's just trying to take advantage of you. He's playing you.'_

His own thoughts took precedence over the voices. _'He would lay down his life for her. He tries every day on his job to save people. Maybe Amber was never meant to live. I miss her so much. I need her. Maybe he did everything he knew how to do. I didn't know how to save her either. Maybe this is wrong.'_


	8. Chapter 8

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 8

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

The slow squeak of the hinges of the bedroom door echoed across the quiet room.

The light from the hall spilled across the threshold illuminating the doorway.

Roy looked over and silhouetted in the light from the hall he could see his son. "Chris are you sick?"

"I couldn't sleep." came the soft response.

Joanne raised up on her elbow so she could see over her husband. "What's the matter son?"

"I can't stop thinking about something that happened today at Uncle Johnny's."

"What happened son?" Roy asked as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Come on over here and tell me what's bothering you."

Chris padded slowly over to his father and stood in front of his with his eyes downcast. "Um you know when we were playing ball and the ball rolled into the woods beside the barn?" He waited for his dad to answer.

"Well I wasn't there at the time, but why don't you tell me what happened. Come here and sit next to me and tell your mom and me the whole story."

Chris leaned against his parent's bed and Roy draped his arm around his son. Joanne lay back on her pillow and waited to hear her son's explanation.

"Well ya see the ball rolled into the trees. I was closest so I ran after it. When I got there to get it I thought I heard something." He paused.

"Heard something?" Joanne asked. "Like what?"

"I dunno. It sounded like an animal.....I guess." Chris shrugged his small shoulders.

"Son there are all kinds of animals in those woods behind your Uncle Johnny's house. You know that. We've seen raccoons, squirrels, snakes, and even thought we heard a bear once....remember?"

"Yes sir, but it sounded big, and Dad it smelled." Chris looked at his dad with wide eyes. "It smelled funny."

"Funny how son?"

"Well like you but different." Chris looked up proud of his explanation.

"Like your father but different,. What does that mean?" She chuckled at he son's explanation.

"Well.....you know dad uses that stuff after he shaves. It smells good. I smelled something like that only it didn't smell as good."

"Aftershave?" Roy asked.

"Yeah and remember Uncle Johnny thought he heard someone in the woods when he was in the hammock. I just can't stop thinkin' what if there really was someone out there?" Chris had finally gotten to the worry that kept him awake.

"Son," Roy pulled his son close and hugged him. "I know you love your Uncle Johnny a whole lot. I also know that his is injured and you worry about him, but I promise you he can take care of himself. He probably had a dream out there in the hammock that made him think someone hid in the woods watching him. You need to go back to bed now and let the adults worry about stuff like that. Okay?"

"Well okay dad, but what if someone really wanted to hide out in those woods and hurt Uncle Johnny?" Chris looked at his dad for a sign that he understood.

"I don't think anyone would want to hurt your Uncle. I'll tell you what. It's just a little after midnight. As soon as I think he will be awake in the morning I will give him a call and make sure he and Miss Dixie are okay. Would that help you to get back to sleep?"

"Yeah dad, that would be great!" Chris hugged his father and turned to leave the room. "Sorry I woke you and mom up."

"It's okay Chris. We're here for you. We love you very much," Joanne told him.

Chris ran around the bed and gave his mother a kiss. "Thanks mom, I love you too." Then he slipped from the room closing the door on the way back to his room satisfied that his dad would take care of the problem. After all his dad could do anything.

Roy got up from the side of the bed. "I'll just go make sure he turned out the lights and got back in the bed."

"Okay," Joanne yawned. "Good night."

Roy checked on his son and daughter and went to the kitchen for a drink before returning to his bed.

Slowly sliding under the covers so as not to wake Joanne he settled once again into his bed to try to get some sleep, but sleep would not come.

Roy tossed and turned for a long time the things his son had said running through his mind over and over mixed in with Johnny's upset that caused him to tumble from the hammock. Could there be something to all of this? Roy hadn't wanted to worry his young son about it. He thought he had assured his son that Johnny could take care of himself. He hoped he had. Now if only he could be that sure.

At the ranch Dixie stirred on the couch. She slowly opened her eyes squinting in the light from the lamp on the sofa table. She could see two figures across the room. She recognized Johnny who sat slumped in the wheelchair, but had no idea who the other man could be.

"What happened?" She whispered as she tried to sit up.

"Well pretty lady you fell and hit your head," Jimmy got up and moved toward the couch.

"Don' tou...touch h..her." Johnny slurred.

Jimmy grabbed his hair and jerked his head back. "You keep quiet Fireboy." Then he pushed Johnny's head forward causing him to sag in the chair.

"Ahhh....don'...hurs."

"Johnny!" Dixie tried to get up from the couch.

Jimmy moved over and pushed her back down. "You stay put."

_'This is getting too complicated Jimmy. They are getting restless already. You need to go ahead and take care of that man. Have the broad take off his bandages so he can see you and you can tell him what he did.' _

"I'm running this show." Jimmy said his eyes darting up and from side to side as if he looked for the people speaking inside his head.

Dixie noticed his odd behavior. She realized that he must be speaking to what he perceived as voices in his own mind, maybe multiple personalities or Schizophrenia, "Why don't you let me help him? He's injured. I can see something is very wrong with him."

"He's just very relaxed from his medication. No need for you to worry your pretty little head with that one."

Dixie's mind raced..._medication? Johnny's taking antibiotics and pain meds...did he give Johnny something. Could he have given Johnny some of his own anti-psychotic medication or tranquilizers? If he did that would explain his lethargy. She had to find a way to get the man to trust her, so she could find out what he'd given Johnny. _She watched Jimmy as he reached over and grabbed his beer from the coffee table and drained the bottle.

_'She likes him Jimmy. She doesn't like you. She's not like Amber.'_

"Shut up...don't talk about her. She could be like my Amber. I'll be the one to decide that not you." Jimmy clearly under the influence of the several empty beer bottles that littered the coffee table talked to thin air.

"Can you tell me what medication he is on?" Dixie hoped to get some information to help Johnny who she now suspected had been drugged. Mixed with the antibiotics and pain medication he already had in his system he could be in real trouble.


	9. Chapter 9

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 9

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

"What?"

"What kind of medication is he taking?" Dixie asked hoping she could get some information that would help her to know just what kind of danger Johnny might be in.

He bolted up in his chair and jerked his face toward her, his eyes wild and his movements jerky. "Don't worry about that. I have it." Jimmy seemed to be getting more alert instead of more out of it even though he had already consumed several beers.

Trying to remember her training in dealing with patients suffering from psychosis, thoughts raced through her head. She desperately needed to find a way to earn his trust. Her head pounded in rhythm with her own heartbeat from the knot that had formed when she hit her head, but with steely determination learned from her army days as a field nurse surrounded by rapid fire gunshots and exploding grenades, she continued to try to find a way to gain control of this scary situation.

Johnny moaned. Dixie looked over at him and without moving she observed his breathing by counting the rise and fall of his chest, slow but not alarmingly so. _'He must have given him something like a nerve tablet. Think...what would be prescribed for calming a delusional patient that could be taken daily.'_ She couldn't remember with the fogginess the blow to the head had caused.

"Shut up fireboy!" Jimmy barked from across the room.

Dixie made soothing shushing noises to Johnny that touched a place in Jimmy's heart reminding him of his Amber. Looking across at the woman on the couch it wasn't Dixie he saw. It was Amber. His thoughts traveled to the time he spent in the psych ward at Rampart. Amber questioned the doctors about him.

The soft face of Amber penetrated his thoughts and floated in front of him. 

_Can you tell me what medication he is on? _

_Haloperidol. It's an anti-psychotic. We just put him on it._

_He's shaking._

_Yes ma'am. Unfortunately, it's one of the side effects. Hopefully, after a few weeks, we'll see a decrease in psychotic episodes as well as with the trembling._

_Will it have any other side effects?_

_Involuntary muscles spasms, restlessness, facial tremors, some atrophy of the facial muscles._

_Don't you have anything else? That all sounds horrible._

_No ma'am. But if we monitor him closely, and you keep careful records, we can adjust the dosage so that all of those side effects can be minimized._

"What kind of medication is he taking?" Dixie repeated, hoping she could get some information that would help her to know just what kind of danger Johnny might be in.

Jimmy shook his head. The voices of Amber and Dixie merged, separated, merged.

"You were the only one that cared about me," he said softly to Dixie, seeing Amber. "You were the only one that gave a damn. I heard you, you know, that day…that first day when they stared the Haloperidol_._ I knew you were there. You didn't think I remembered, but I did."

Dixie stared at Jimmy. He'd given Johnny Haloperidol, an anti-psychotic. "What's your name?" Dixie asked softly.

Jimmy shook his head. "What's wrong Amber? Don't you know me?"

"I hit my head," Dixie said quickly. Apparently the man thought she was Amber. She searched her memory trying to connect the name with a record or a face.

Jimmy staggered to his feet.

"Don…hurt…her…"

Jimmy's face turned red. He whirled around. "I would never hurt my Amber. Never! Never! You shut up! Didn't I tell you to shut up!"

Dixie moaned and clutched her head watching Jimmy carefully. She had to get him away from Johnny. "Oh…my head hurts…please help me…"

Jimmy's head whipped around. "Amber? Honey? Did he hurt you?" He turned and faced Johnny again. He reached down and grabbed him by the arms and pulled him upright. "Did you hurt her? Did you? Did you hurt my Amber! Tell me!" He shook Johnny roughly, snapping his head back and forth.

Dixie tried again this time a little louder. "Oh, my head hurts…please help me!"

Jimmy's head whipped around to Dixie and then back to Johnny. Roughly he shoved Johnny back into the chair and then weaved his way over to Dixie. "Amber honey? Amber?"

Dixie moaned and closed her eyes. She felt the man's hands on her shoulders and felt herself stiffen, but she willed herself to remain pliant when she smelled his fetid breath. Think, Dixie, think!

"Amber honey? Amber?" Jimmy was confused when the images of Dixie and Amber separated for a moment and instead of seeing the shoulder length brown hair Amber had that he loved, he saw Dixie's blondness; instead of seeing Amber's softly rounded body, he saw slim arms and legs; instead of Amber's long length, he saw a small, petite woman lying before him. "Amber? You're not Amber!"

Instantly, his memory merged again and he was once again looking down at his Amber.

Confusion rattled his intoxicated brain, but he missed his wife so much and wanted so desperately to have someone to love him. He pressed his lips against Dixie's and held her tight.

Dixie tensed and pushed against his chest, "No. I...I think I'm going to be sick. Please, I need to be sick." She was able to push him away.

Jimmy stumbled back a few steps and stared at the woman before him. _'She's trying to play you Jimmy. She's not Amber.'_He wrinkled his brow and tilted his head. He stepped back up to Dixie. "I didn't mean to hurt you Amber."

Johnny moaned and began swallowing and licking his lips and his breathing came out in gasps.

"He's going to be sick. I've seen it before. Let me help him." She pleaded with Jimmy. "Please."

_'Let her remove the bandages so he can see us. It's time, before the medication wears off.'_Jimmy looked from Dixie to Johnny and back to Dixie. "You helped me."

"I tried, I will," Dixie said softly.

"You can help him if you take the bandages from his eyes. We want him to see us." Jimmy stepped back and let her have access to Johnny.


	10. Chapter 10

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 10

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Dixie couldn't believe that Jimmy moved aside to let her help Johnny. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth she carefully got up from the sofa and slipped past the tormented man without a sideways glance.

Jimmy reached out and grabbed her arm nearly jerking her off her feet. "No funny business."

She nodded her understanding, and as soon as he let his grip on her arm go, she rubbed it knowing she would sport several bruises where his fingers had dug into her skin. She stepped over and knelt in front of Johnny. She put one hand on his uninjured knee and the other on his forehead to check for fever. His skin felt warm. "Johnny can you hear me?" She lovingly pushed the hair from his face and tilted his head back enough that she could see the new colorful bruises left by Jimmy's hands.

Johnny barely moved save the swallowing and licking of his lips. "Sick." He uttered the one word Dixie already knew. He felt groggy and confused. With his eyes covered, each movement seemed to make the room rock and sway as if he were on a boat. He didn't like boats. He almost always got seasick on boats. "S..stop th..this b..boat." He gripped the arms of the wheelchair with white knuckles.

"Okay sweetheart. Let me take you to the bathroom and get you cleaned up." She stood and started around the back of the wheel chair.

'_Don't let her out of your sight, Jimmy. She's up to something. You need to stop her._' Jimmy shook his head trying to clear the voices and the cobwebs brought on by too much beer. "Wait! No you can do it here." He abruptly stood and stepped toward her ready to stop her.

Dixie's hands went to her hips. One thing she knew how to do was care for a patient, take charge of that treatment and give directions to those around her. She wasn't about to let anyone not even this psychotic man stop her from giving Johnny the best care she could. He was too important to her for that, and she needed to find out how badly he had been affected by the Haloperidol. "Now you listen to me. I need to clean him up and cool him down. He's going to be sick whether you like it or not. Either you step aside and let me take him to the bathroom to clean him up or you get me a bowl of cool water and some clean rags. Now what's it going to be?"

Once again Jimmy saw his Amber with steel determination in her eyes when he got out of line. She could certainly whip him into shape. He loved it when she stopped him from doing something stupid. "Aw Amber I'm sorry. I'll get you the bowl of water." His shoulders slumped and he headed to the kitchen. _'What are you doing Jimmy? That's not Amber. You should be ordering her around. Don't let her get the upper hand. Go over there and show her who the boss is.'_ Jimmy kept moving toward the kitchen. "Shush now Amber's mad at us."

Dixie leaned close to Johnny's ear and whispered. "We need to figure out how to get out of here. I'm going to take the bandages off of your eyes and find out how much you can see. Even if your vision is blurry, at least maybe you can see where you're going. I know you don't feel well. He's given you some medication. Johnny, do you understand?"

"Yeah." He whispered so softly Dixie barely heard him. She smoothed the hair from his forehead and began pulling the tape that held the gauze in place. He winced as it pulled at his skin.

Jimmy came back with the bowl of water and rags. "Here's the water love."

Dixie shivered at the words of endearment he used. The back of her hand went reflexively to her mouth, and she wiped her mouth trying to erase the kiss he had put there earlier. "Thank you." She took the rags, dipped one in the water and began bathing Johnny's face and neck. "Better." He nodded. "Okay I'm going to finish removing the bandages now."

Johnny held his eyes closed until Dixie had removed all of the bandages. She washed his face and neck again. He felt a little less nauseated with the coolness. Slowly he blinked his eyes open. He couldn't open them completely. The light hurt his eyes. He could make out two shapes. They were blurry. He blinked several more times trying to clear his vision. It seemed to help. "Ah Dix, could you turn out the overhead light? Maybe turn on a lamp instead. It's kind of bright."

'Dixie, her name is Amber. No…no she's not Amber. Amber's dead.' Jimmy looked from Johnny to Dixie and stared at her for a long time.

Dixie saw him staring at her. The crazed look in his eyes made her afraid to move.

"Do it." Jimmy demanded. "I want him to see us."

The fact that Jimmy had begun to refer to himself as us as though he were more than one person did not go unnoticed.

Johnny looked over in Jimmy's direction to make sure he stayed put. He had already hurt Dixie. He would not allow him to hurt her again.

Dixie turned on the lamp and then switched off the overhead light. Johnny continued blinking. "Let me wash your eyes with water again. Maybe that will help."

Johnny leaned his head back which made the room spin, but he held it back to let Dixie wash his eyes anyway. When she was finished the cool water had helped him regain some clarity.

He looked over in the direction of the blurry man who had taken them hostage.

Thoughts raced through Johnny's mind._'I know this man, but how and why did he come here? What does he want with me?'_ Adrenalin pulsed through his veins._ 'I've got to get Dixie out of here.'_


	11. Chapter 11

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 11

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Thoughts raced through Johnny's mind. Something Jimmy said struck a chord in his memory. Jimmy had that sound in his voice. He'd heard it before. "She's my life, my savior." The way he spoke to Dixie now had that same inflection and tone. He tried to remember where he'd heard those words. He tried desperately to place Jimmy. He and Roy handled hundreds of rescue calls a month. Only a few stood out. Usually the miraculous saves, or the tragic losses, or of course the ones where he or Roy ended up injured. Something about this man and the call had stuck in his memory. Slowly the circumstances came back to him of the fated rescue where he met the man before him. _'It was a woman down call.'_

When he and Roy arrived on the scene, what they found was heartbreaking even to two strong firefighters.

Jimmy leaned over his wife's body crying out to her begging her to wake up. He acted more like a dazed little kid than a grown man. Then he started babbling as if he were talking to someone else, but there was no one there. He kept saying that he had to call for help. That they couldn't stop him from helping his wife. He needed her. He loved her. He kept saying the men in the red truck would help her…make her better like the doctors had. He kept saying the side of the red truck said Rescue. _'Roy had to help him over to the sofa. He didn't seem to be able to think for himself. He kept asking the woman what to do.' _

The woman lay on the floor comatose, barely breathing. She looked frail and her body appeared much older than he said she was. They didn't know it at the time, but cancer had stolen her beauty and left her body wasted away to near nothing. There wasn't much they could do for her but get her packaged and transported to Rampart where her life slipped away. They hated losing a patient, but in times like that it was almost a relief to know the patient no longer suffered.

'_I thought we were going to have to call him in as a second patient, but then he seemed to calm down. We loaded him into the front seat of the ambulance, and he rode quietly. He didn't say another word until Dr. Brackett told him she had passed away. Then he lost it. He acted strange…confused. I can understand that, but he kept talking to someone, arguing really. He got so violent they had to give him a sedative. I remember they admitted him to the psych ward. Think John…what was it they said was wrong with him?'_

"What are you looking at?" Jimmy glared at Johnny.

"I…I can't…" He tried to think of what to say. Jimmy wanted him to see him so he could do something to him. He had to make him believe he couldn't see at all. "It's too blurry, dark." Johnny moved his gaze to his hands hoping he looked as defeated as he actually felt. Here he was stuck in the wheel chair with the busted leg. His vision impaired, and Dixie caught up in the middle of this nightmare because of him.

"Johnny, maybe we need to reapply the bandages to your eyes." Dixie suggested soothingly. She reached over, smoothed the hair from his forehead and placed her hand on the side of his face careful of the bruises.

He moved his head as if he looked up at her, "I don't know." He conveyed a lot in the quick glance.

"NO!" Jimmy yelled. "You will not cover his eyes. He has to see us. He has to see. Make him see."

Dixie looked over at him. "I can not perform a miracle at your demand. He can't see. His eyes are not healed. The burns were serious. Unfortunately he may never have clear vision again." Her voice trembled with emotion. "Don't you see? His career could be over. His life as he knows it could have ended with this injury. Why are you doing this?" She sat down in the chair next to Johnny and covered her face with her hands sobbing.

Jimmy didn't like upsetting the pretty woman. He didn't like seeing Amber cry. "Hush now sweetie, don't cry. We'll make everything better." He moved over next to her and rubbed small circles on her back in a tender way that made her skin crawl.

Dixie peeked from between her fingers at Johnny. Their eyes met and they held each other's gaze for a moment.

'_Don't be caught up in her female games Jimmy. She's not that upset. She's just his nurse. They work together. She doesn't love him like Amber loved you. It's time Jimmy, time to get this over with. You need to do it before morning. Before someone notices that they are missing.' _Jimmy stopped trying to comfort Dixie and backed away. His eyes were wild looking and his mouth hung open. The vision of her hand lovingly placed on the side of Johnny's face flashed in his mind. "What are you trying to do? Are you having an affair with this man Amber?"

Dixie's head shot up, she looked from Johnny to Jimmy. This was not going the way she wanted it to. "I'm not. He's hurt. I'm a nurse. I care about all my patients." She stood up and took a few steps toward him. "I promise…I'm not."

"She's not." Johnny confirmed.

"Shut up! Both of you shut up! All of you just shut up! I need to think. I have to think. I have to figure this out. Amber why won't you help me figure this out?" He looked at Dixie.

"I'll help you. Let me help you." She held out her hand to him.

Johnny took advantage of the distraction to look around the room and try to devise his own plan.

Jimmy backed away from Dixie. A moment of clarity wrapped around his thoughts. "No…no you're not Amber. I…I thought you were, but you're not. You're just a nurse. You were there at the hospital. He was there. He came to our house. He killed her."

Those words stung when Johnny heard them.

He knew in his mind that they couldn't help her.

He knew in his mind that she had suffered enough.

He knew the cancer had ravaged her body, but in his heart, he still mourned his inability to beat death.

In his heart, he still mourned the loss of life.

In his heart, he saw only failure.

In his heart now knowing who had kidnapped he and Dixie he felt a strong desire to help the man, to get him to Rampart where they could help him. The paramedic in him wanted to save the victim. He found it hard to feel any animosity toward his kidnapper.

But in his mind, he knew that protecting Dixie from further harm had to be his first priority. Whatever happened to Jimmy would depend on Jimmy. If he attempted to hurt Dixie, Johnny would stop at nothing to protect her. Nothing.


	12. Chapter 12

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 12

By GCS and LK

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Not able to get back to sleep after his conversation with Chris Roy looked over at the clock beside the bed, just four o'clock and still two and a half hours before he had to get up. He sighed and threw his arm over his eyes in a John Gage fashion. That did nothing but make him think more about the events of the past couple of days.

He finally gave up and climbed out of bed and quietly walked over to the closet. He grabbed his uniform and shoes, some clean boxers, t-shirt and sox. He slipped out of the room to shower downstairs in the guest bath that Johnny usually used. It seemed like everything he did reminded him of Johnny. He smiled at himself and yawned.

Something was nagging at the back of his mind that he just couldn't figure out. That something made him wonder if everything was all right at Johnny's ranch. It was still way too early to head out there, but since he obviously couldn't sleep he decided to go ahead and make some coffee and shower. At least then maybe he wouldn't wake Joanne up.

He tiptoed down the stairs purposefully skipping the step that always creaked loudly. He knew not to step on that one from experience. Once when he and Joanne were headed upstairs for some wedded bliss, they had forgotten to skip that step and as soon as the loud creaking noise permeated the quiet house, not one but both children were once again awake. At the bottom of the stairs he turned and felt his way down the darkened hallway.

While he fumbled for the bathroom light switch he remembered something Chris had said about when he had gone after the ball in the woods. He had said he smelled something funny, like his aftershave only it didn't smell as good. _'What else was it he said?'_

Roy placed his uniform and other things on the back of the commode and turned to the linen closet for a towel. He scratched the back of his head and thought for a minute. Chris had said he thought he heard something big and it smelled like bad aftershave. Roy stood in the middle of the bathroom for a few minutes considering what his young son had said. There had been a lot of people at Johnny's today. Any one of them could have been in the area where the ball rolled. One of the teenage boys could have been out there hiding with some teenage girl and they didn't want to get caught. One of the older men may have gone out there to…well 'use the facilities'. He shrugged his shoulders and decided to put the coffee on to make while he showered.

Once he found his way down the dark hallway to the kitchen he didn't turn on the light until he reached the sink. He knew where everything was so he didn't need much light anyway. He flipped on the light over the sink and grabbed the carafe from the coffee maker. He quickly rinsed it out and filled it with fresh water. He poured that into the back of the Mr. Coffee and replaced the carafe on the burner. Then he found the filter and filled it with the appropriate amount of coffee grounds to make a strong but not too strong pot of coffee. Johnny had shown him how he made it. Johnny's coffee was always good, rich but not bitter. Roy still couldn't get it quite right, but his coffee was much better than it used to be. He pushed the brew button and watched as the water began sputtering into the waiting container.

Something else worried him about Chris' story. He had echoed Johnny's words about someone being out there in the woods watching them, and then he had asked what if there was someone out there in the woods that wanted to hurt Johnny. _'Why would anyone be watching Johnny? Better yet, why would anyone want to hurt him?'_

The hairs on the back of his neck just would not lie down.

He stood in the kitchen listening to the sounds of the coffee maker. Johnny had heard the sounds of someone nearby when he was in the hammock. They hadn't believed him, but he had even said he heard someone cough. _'Could Chris be right? Johnny had heard me at Rampart out on the patio. He could tell it was me before I even said anything. He does have really good hearing.' _He chuckled to himself. _'He hears rattling in the squad all the time. Stuff I can't even hear, but Johnny, he knows it's there and usually finds it.'_

Roy reached for a cup and waited for the last few drops to disappear into the rippled surface of the coffee. When it remained smooth he pulled out the carafe and poured himself a cup. Out of habit he raised the cup and smelled it. Then he took an experimental sip. _'That's good.'_

Instead of going to the shower, Roy sat at the kitchen table and enjoyed the first morning cup of coffee. While he drank it he continued thinking about the past few days. His thoughts ran through the accident and the burns to Johnny's eyes. The party they had been planning for Cap and his picking Johnny up at Rampart for the day pass. _'I'm glad Dr. Brackett let him sleep at home tonight. When I went to get him yesterday morning out on the patio he looked so lost and worried.'_

He slid his chair back and got up to refill his cup. He remembered Johnny looking so defeated. He remembered the way Johnny's mouth had sagged in a deep frown, and how he sat so still, obviously disturbed about his prognosis. A helpless John Gage was like a time bomb waiting to explode. But there was something else about that morning…what was it?

Roy returned to the table and tried to remember what else it was that had bothered him about the time he and Johnny spent on the patio. He raised the coffee to his lips to drink and stopped with the cup in mid air. _'There was someone there that looked familiar.'_

How could he have forgotten that? The guy had been off in the corner. He had tried real hard to look away. _'He didn't want me to have time to recognize him.' _Roy's military training started kicking in and he began to really consider the ramifications of someone who might actually be trying to get to Johnny. Then it suddenly occurred to Roy that the guy at Rampart looked like one of the guy's he had seen at the party.

'_Nah, Roy, man you really have been hanging around Johnny too much. That's crazy.'_

He put his cup in the sink and headed for the shower.


	13. Chapter 13

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 13

By GCS and LK

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Dixie moved back away from Jimmy and returned to her seat next to Johnny.

"She was a beautiful woman." Johnny picked at a callous on his thumb. He could feel the tough skin without looking. "Your wife."

"So you do remember her." Jimmy said gruffly_. 'Of course he does. He let her die. It's time for you to make him pay.' _Jimmy's eyes looked from side to side as if he looked for the source of the noises in his head. "Well you won't have to worry about thinking about her anymore." He raised his gun and pointed it at Johnny's chest. "I'm going to make sure you are not here to remember her. You don't deserve to live." His hands trembled as he held the gun in his outstretched hand. He lifted his other hand to help steady his aim.

"She told me she was worried about you and what would happen to you when she was gone." Johnny said softly not deterred by the gun.

"You're lying. She didn't talk to you." He shook his head from side to side.

"She knew she didn't have much time. She asked me to be sure you were all right. That's why I asked Dr. Brackett if I could see you…after." Johnny lifted his face toward Jimmy careful not to direct his eyes to him. He didn't want Jimmy to think he could see him clearly.

"Liar." Jimmy waved the gun toward Dixie. "She's in on this too isn't she? She wants me locked up."

"NO!" Johnny shot a glance toward Dixie. "No, she's just a nurse." He looked into her eyes hoping she understood that he needed to downplay her importance. "She just follows directions from the doctors or us, the paramedics." He knew that wasn't true, in fact the paramedics had to follow the directions of the nurses, but he needed Jimmy to think she was not important enough to hurt. He needed to get Jimmy to stop pointing the gun at Dixie. He needed to be the center of Jimmy's attention.

"Yeah, I can see that, but she didn't help my Amber." He moved the gun back toward Johnny. "No matter anyway, you're the one that has to pay. Your partner has a wife and kids. I can't take him away from them, but you…you're going to be the payment for my Amber. Your life isn't worth anything. You don't have anyone to take care of, to provide for. You're alone, just like me."

"He's not alone." Dixie whispered. "He has plenty of family, people who need him."

Johnny closed his eyes, lowered his chin to his chest and tried to contain his disappointment that Dixie had again gained Jimmy's attention.

'_She's trying to confuse us, Jimmy, don't listen to her.' _Jimmy shook his head to clear the static.

Lightning streaked across the night sky and the lights flickered. Thunder rolled a few seconds later. The storm was close and sounded like it was going to be a big one.

Johnny tensed as the lightning made the lights flicker again. Maybe the storm would give him enough distraction to get the gun away from the crazed man.

The flashes of light reflected off the barrel of the gun Jimmy waved in the air_. 'Now Jimmy, the thunder will muffle the sound of the gun. The neighbors will think the noise is just from the storm. Do it now!'_ The screams in his head rattled Jimmy. "Stop! I can't concentrate on what I'm doing here if you keep bothering me. I can handle this!"

Dixie could see that Jimmy was losing more of his touch with reality. He now openly spoke to the voices he had in his head. She had seen this type of behavior before in psych patients. The more they talked aloud to the voices from within, the more they conflicted with what the voices were telling them, the more agitated they would become. She had to do something before Jimmy lost complete control and hurt Johnny more than he already had.

A brilliant flash of light illuminated the entire room, and the power went out plunging them into total blackness. Thunder rumbled so close and strong it rocked the entire house.

Dixie could hear shuffling noises mixed with the continuous thumping of rain as it pelted the roof and a gasp of pain from Johnny, who was suddenly closer to her whispering in her ear. "You have to get out of here. Go to the cellar. Lock the door. There's a locked door that leads to the back yard. Key's on the nail beside the door. Go Now!" She felt Johnny turn her in the direction of the cellar and give her a gentle nudge. "Go Dixie, call for help." She started feeling her way along the wall.

Lightning flashed revealing the three occupants of the darkened house. Eerie shadows danced along the walls where each stood in the room.

Johnny swayed on his broken leg. Dixie froze in her movement toward the cellar, her hand rose to her mouth; she held her breath and fear shown in her eyes. How was Johnny able to move so quickly with a casted leg? The pain had to be excruciating. Jimmy swung the gun toward where he had seen Johnny and fired.

Darkness enveloped the scene. A loud pinging noise could be heard. The bullet hit and ricocheted into something making a soft impacting noise.

Dixie gasped. "Johnny!"

"GO!" He yelled back at her from somewhere on the other side of the room. His voice was laced with pain.

"Don't move!" Jimmy yelled. "Or I'll shoot." Dixie hesitated, afraid to move.

"GO DIXIE! He can't see you until the lightning flashes. Go!" Johnny moved carefully behind the chair making his way around the room behind Jimmy, every movement sending jolts of white hot pain from his leg riveting through his body. Jimmy spun around trying to determine where Johnny was in the room. Dixie dropped to her knees and crawled toward the cellar door.

Jimmy turned from side to side. He could tell that Johnny had moved. _'Shoot her. He'll try to help her. Then you can get him. Shoot her Jimmy.'_ Jimmy shook his head. "No I can't hurt Amber." He stumbled and turned trying to determine where Johnny was. _'She's not Amber. Shoot her.' _ He turned toward the last place he saw Dixie, raised the gun and fired into the darkness.

Lightning flashed again and Jimmy saw Johnny right next to him. Then darkness settled on the room again as quickly as it had been light. Johnny grabbed for the gun.

Dixie reached the door to the cellar. Her hand gripped the handle. She opened the door and hesitated for a second. She didn't want to leave Johnny, but they needed help. Johnny needed help. He was injured and weak. The drugs Jimmy had given him earlier were still in his system. He had to be functioning on pure adrenalin right now and that couldn't last long.

Lightning flashed again and thunder rolled at the same time making the pictures on the wall rattle against the nails holding them in place. The door to the cellar stood open and Dixie was gone.

Now that he thought Dixie was safe, Johnny felt as if he didn't have to be as careful. He jerked Jimmy's hand trying to dislodge the gun and pushed against his face with his other elbow. Jimmy lashed out at Johnny's broken casted leg with his foot trying to knock the man down. Pain radiated throughout Johnny's body. His eyes stung and watered. His breaths came in short pants. They struggled for a long time until a shot rang out.

Lightning flashed again. The struggle became a little less intense as the two men slid to the floor.

Thunder rumbled across the sky.

Another shot flashed across the room landing in a thud. It must have hit something soft.

Muffled moans mixed with the rumbling thunder that seemed to be further in the distance.

The storm rolled past as quickly as it had come.

A final shot…and then it grew very quiet.

The lightning gone off somewhere in the distance no longer provided flashes of clarity for the room's occupants and left them in total darkness.


	14. Chapter 14

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 14

By GCS and LK

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Roy could no longer resist the urge to head over to Johnny's ranch.

When he ran to his truck in the middle of the severe thunderstorm, he wondered to himself how wise that decision was, but his experience in the squad driving in bad conditions helped him to shrug off his concern.

Lightning streaked across the night sky. Thunder rolled a few seconds later. The storm was close and sounded like it was going to be a big one.

The beating of the windshield wipers in fast mode served to heighten his awareness and kept him from dwelling too much on what he might find when he got to Johnny's.

The lightning streaked across the sky and thunder rumbled even before the darkness returned. The storm was right on top of him, shaking the truck with every crack.

At one point he thought he might have to pull over, but then the storm rumbled on as fast as it had come up.

Before Roy got to Johnny's ranch he knew the power in the area was out. All of the houses along the winding roadway were completely dark.

The first streams of breaking dawn lit the sky poking through the dark storm clouds along the horizon, but it was still, mostly dark.

He just couldn't get past that uneasy feeling that something was wrong. He hoped the feelings were a false alarm and that he would be making coffee for them all in a few minutes, but just in case, he had called his and Johnny's policeman friend, Vince Howard.

Vince had agreed to meet him at Johnny's.

Pulling into the long gravel drive, Roy noticed that the yard light by the barn stood dark. That light usually lit most of the yard between the barn and the house.

Looking over at the house he noticed that all of the windows were pitch black.

Knowing Johnny would have his camping lanterns handy in the event of a blackout, and that the loud thunder and lightning always woke Johnny up, the fact that the house loomed in front of him totally dark made his sense of unease grow stronger.

He pulled his truck over by Johnny's Rover. At least, it appeared that they were still there. Roy sighed a sigh of relief.

Vince's squad car pulled in behind him.

"Hey Vince, thanks for coming out here this early. I hope it's just for some fresh coffee." Roy reached out and shook Vince's hand. "I'm sorry you had to drive out here in that storm."

"No problem Roy, I can always use some good strong coffee." He chuckled. "But first, let's check things out." Vince walked around to the back of his squad car and opened the trunk. "Here's a flashlight." He handed one to Roy and took one out for himself.

The two men turned and walked over to the long front porch to the ranch style home. They flicked on their flashlights and climbed the steps.

"Seems quiet." Roy looked over at Vince.

"I'll look in the window first Roy, just in case."

The thought that Vince was shining his flashlight in the window "in case" there might be something wrong inside made Roy nervous…very nervous.

Vince flashed his light into the dark room. He scanned it along the floor and walls. The furniture blocked much of his view. Then he saw the wheel chair toppled over on the far side of the room. The cellar door stood open, and there was a dark smudge on the wall just to the right of the door. It was hard to tell, but it looked like blood.

"Roy…I'm going to need to call for back up. It looks like there may have been a struggle."

Roy immediately dug into his pocket for his keys.

Vince walked over and put a restraining hand on his arm. "We need to wait, Roy. We don't know what we are walking into."

"I know that my best friend is in there. He may be hurt. I understand that you think we need to wait, but I'm not going to stand out here if he or Dixie are in need of medical attention." He stepped over to the door. "You can come with me, or you can wait for back up. I don't care either way…I'm going in." He hesitated long enough for Vince to answer.

"Okay. They're my friends too. Just let me make the call for back up, and we'll go in on one condition." Vince looked hard into Roy's eyes. "I go first." He tapped the gun holstered on his hip.

"Make the call." Roy stepped back from the door showing Vince his agreement. "I'll get Johnny's first aid kit." He turned and jogged over to the Rover to get the kit he knew Johnny always kept in the Rover for when he went on camping trips. Ever since they had ran up on that woman and her son whose station wagon was hit head on by a truck on the highway, while the two of them had gone camping and fishing with Chet, Johnny always had a well stocked first aid kit in the Rover.

He returned to the porch, "Are you ready?"

"Let's go." Vince held his hand out for Roy's keys. "First sign of trouble, you get out and wait for back up. Got it!"

Roy nodded.

Vince slowly unlocked the door trying to be very quiet. He inched the heavy oak door open a crack and shined his flashlight through the small opening checking for movement; when he saw none he pushed it a little further allowing him to do a visual sweep of the immediate area. He looked over his shoulder at Roy and held his finger to his mouth in a shushing motion, and then he stepped across the threshold.

Roy followed right on his heels.

The first place Vince scanned his light was the smudge on the wall beside the open cellar door. It looked like a hand print that slid down the wall.

Roy scanned his light on the other side of the room.

He stopped and gasped when he saw Johnny crumpled on the floor and another man beside him. "Vince." He whispered and pointed to the prone bodies.

"Careful Roy. There may be others." Vince moved over toward the blood smear. Dixie was still unaccounted for.

Roy moved the light down the length of Johnny's body and noticed the cracks in the cast on his leg.

Neither he nor the man lying next to him seemed to be moving. They were either unconscious or…

Roy couldn't bring himself to think that.

Roy couldn't tell if either man were breathing. His own heartbeat thudded in his ears blocking out any sound.

As he walked closer he noticed that the stranger had been injured, and Johnny's hand was pressed against the man's side as if he had tried to stop the bleeding.

He stepped a little closer and shined the light on Johnny's face. What he saw frightened him. Johnny's eyes were open, staring lifeless.


	15. Chapter 15

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 15

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Roy dropped to his knees beside his best friend.

He reached his hand out to check for a pulse, but he couldn't make it move against Johnny's neck.

His hand trembled as he held it out.

Sweat beaded on his forehead.

He couldn't bring himself to complete the simplest task.

The first thing a paramedic was instructed to do upon arrival at a scene is check for life, for a pulse.

He froze.

'God Johnny…please…'

For the first time in his career as a first responder…he froze.

His couldn't breathe; he was barely keeping hold of his emotions.

His heart pounded in his ears.

Grayness lingered around the edges of his vision.

He didn't want to feel for Johnny's pulse if it wasn't there.

Blood pooled on the floor between the two men.

It was splattered on both of their clothing.

It was impossible to tell who was bleeding or if it was both of them.

'Please let me find a pulse.'

He didn't want to be a paramedic right now.

This was his best friend, his brother.

He wished he didn't have the skills necessary to check for a pulse.

'What if….

No…no what ifs…'

His hand stretched inches further toward the goal.

He had to know. He had to try.

Then he thought he saw the slightest twitch in Johnny's eyes.

Reality slammed into him. 'He's alive.'

"Johnny?"

Johnny's eyes closed ever so slowly. "You're here."

The air rushed from Roy's lungs and he swayed. "Your alive! Thank God!"

"Knew you'd come."

Johnny's confidence in him gave Roy the push he needed to move into action, and he reached toward Johnny's wrist.

"No…I have to keep pressure. He's bleeding. Shot." Johnny's concentration was etched on his face.

"I need to check you out." Roy sat back on his heels and laid his hands on his knees. "I need…."

"Roy?" Johnny could barely speak. "D-did D-Dixie call?"

"Dixie, Isn't she here?" Roy looked around the darkened room and remembered the smudge on the wall.

Johnny stirred and tried to raise his head and look toward the cellar. "She didn't get out? God Roy you have to find her! There were so many shots." His head fell back against the floor.

"Okay Johnny. Let me look at you." Roy leaned forward reaching again for Johnny's wrist. "Vince is looking for Dixie."

Exhaustion got its hold on Johnny. "The v-victim first, Roy, y-you know th-that." He slurred. His eyes slid closed again.

Roy sighed. But he knew Johnny would not allow him to work on him first. Even though they were not on duty. Roy checked Jimmy's neck for a pulse. He found it very weak, barely there. He saw Johnny's eyes close. "Stay with me Junior. Let me take a look at that wound." He pulled Johnny's hand away from Jimmy's side. When he did he noticed the slight tremors Johnny was having.

He palpated the gunshot to Jimmy's side and gently rolled him looking for an exit wound. "There's no exit."

"I know." Johnny whispered.

"Did you get shot?" Roy had been reaching over Johnny to check on Jimmy. Somehow having his body hovering over Johnny's gave him a sense of providing comfort for his friend. It was all he could give him until help arrived. His professionalism kicked into high gear. He moved trained hands down Jimmy's arms and legs checking for injury. He didn't find anything wrong with the man except the gunshot.

"N-no-I-I d-don't I don't know."

"Where do you hurt?" Roy could see a new set of bruises along the side of Johnny's face and has seen the cracks in his cast earlier.

"I-I don't f-feel so g-good."

Roy knew Johnny was going into shock. He needed an IV and fast. 'Where is that squad?' He began running his hands down the lengths of Johnny's arms. "Who is that guy?"

"Woman down," was all that Johnny could choke out. He was struggling to keep his nausea at bay.

"What?"

"His wife…cancer."

Roy looked at the man, studied his face. Memories of that rescue flooded back to him. "Oh my God." Roy's head hung. This man had attacked Johnny and Dixie because his wife had died of cancer. He remembered the call and the man's anguished screams at the two paramedics the day they brought his gravely ill wife into the ER. She held on as long as she could, but the cancer took her life. Johnny had ridden in the ambulance on that call. He did everything he could for the woman to make her comfortable. They both had known as soon as they arrived on the scene that she was terminal.

Her skin was gray. Her hair, all but, gone. Her face was drawn, and pain filled her sad eyes. She had begged Johnny to look out for her husband, to make sure someone was called to help him through the loss she knew her death would bring him. It was evident that she dearly loved her husband.

Her husband had fallen apart as soon as they walked out of the treatment room. He had lashed out at the two men, screaming obscenities and threats. He had promised to make them pay.

Roy closed his eyes. He knew the man in the trees yesterday, the man Chris had heard by the barn, the man everyone saw, but no one could place had been there just as Johnny had said…watching him. Roy looked at the man a little more closely. 'It's the man at Rampart in the courtyard. God, why didn't I remember him? Why didn't I believe Johnny yesterday or Chris this morning? This is my fault. I should have known. I saw him just sitting there.'

"Roy?" Dixie bent down next to Roy.

Roy reached out for her. "God Dixie." His relief at seeing her alive was written all over his face. Tears welled in his eyes. "I'm sorry Dix." He moved to wrap his arms around her.

She backed away. "Careful. He nicked me in the arm, and what are you sorry for?" She winked at Roy and moved in place to assist with Johnny's care.

"I saw him at Rampart. I should have recognized him." Roy dropped his hands to his knees again.

"We all saw him Roy. He was here at the party, but none of us expected this, or did this. He did." She waved her hand at Jimmy. "Now pull yourself together DeSoto. He made Johnny take Haloperidol. It's an anti-psychotic. His leg is most likely broken again. He struck him across the face several times. " She paused and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Dixie?" Roy put his hand on her back to steady her.

"I'm all right." She shook off the dizziness she felt.

"C-c-oncu-cussed." Johnny mumbled out.

"Did you hit your head?" Roy shined his flashlight toward Dixie. He could see the bump on her forehead. He leaned toward her to get a better look. Then he took her wrist in his hand to get a pulse.

"I said I was all right, Roy." She tried to pull away from him. He held fast and counted her heartbeats. She was as bad as Johnny when it came to injuries, always insisting that she was all right.

"The squad is here." Vince told them as he knelt next to them. "How's Johnny?"

"He'll be just fine." Dixie said as she brushed the damp hair from his face. "Won't you sweetheart?"

"I'm tired." Johnny's eyes closed once again.

"I know sweetie, but you need to stay awake a little while longer." Dixie turned to Roy. "When those paramedics get in here tell Rampart we need an IV stat."


	16. Chapter 16

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 16

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Noises filtered through the fuzziness in his head, but he couldn't make out what it was. Along with the jumbled noise came the realization that everything hurt. "Uhnnn," he moaned softly.

"Johnny can you hear me?"

He felt the familiar rocking of the back of an ambulance. The smells and claustrophobic feeling he always got when he had an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose.

"I think he's coming around."

It was Roy he finally decided when the noise cleared and he could understand the words.

"What is his blood pressure now?"

'_Dixie? Why is she here? Was she on a run with us? I thought the paramedic bill had passed, and we didn't have to have a nurse along anymore.'_ Thoughts sifted through the haze. _'No wait that was years ago. My house…we were at my house. Oh God.'_

"It's up a little, but not enough. He's still pretty out of it."

'_No I'm not, Roy. I'm fine.'_

"He's exhausted, Roy. He should have stayed in the hospital. We should have never let him go home for that party."

"Aw, Dixie, you know he would have driven us crazy if we hadn't let him." Roy smoothed the extra yellow blanket that he had draped over the gurney to help keep his friend warm. Chills seemed to have taken up residence in his friend. Roy knew it could be from the drug Jimmy had given him or from shock. The source of the chills didn't matter. He only wanted to keep him warm.

"I know, but if we had made him stay at the hospital none of this would have happened." She reached up with her good arm and swiftly wiped the tears from her eyes before they could slide down her cheeks.

"You don't know that. He was at the hospital yesterday morning. I saw him in the courtyard." Roy sighed. "He's been after Johnny for days. Vince told me he fit the description of a man seen leaving an alley where a man was found beaten to death. The squad was called to a false alarm about the same time. B-Shift was on."

"Oh my God." Dixie's hand flew to her mouth. "The poor man."

Johnny's mind flew into overdrive after hearing Roy's words. The memories of the last twenty four hours flooded back into his head.

He could remember hearing noises in the woods beside his hammock. That was Jimmy.

He remembered the sound of the voice and smell of the aftershave on the deck. That was Jimmy.

He remembered the breathing in the hall. The breathing he thought at first was Roy, but it wasn't, it was Jimmy.

The nightmare of the last several hours was Jimmy.

Jimmy was why he felt himself rocking once again strapped to a gurney on the way to the hospital hurting all over and sick to his stomach. He swallowed back the feeling of nausea. "Uhnnn." He struggled to pull himself through the haze that gripped him. "R..oy?"

"I'm right here Johnny."

"D..ix?"

"I'm here too." He felt her soft hand brush across his forehead.

"We're on our way to Rampart. We'll have you fixed up in no time." Roy told him softly.

"J..jim…my?"

"Don't worry about him right now. He's in the other ambulance. They're probably already at Rampart. Just concentrate on staying awake for me." He could feel Roy inflating the BP cuff on his arm again while he talked to him in hushed tones. "I won't let him get to you again."

"He…he's sick…n…needs help."

"I know, Junior. They'll help him."

Johnny felt the haze thicken around him. He could hear Roy calling to him from the distance as he slipped back into the darkness.

"He's out again." Roy looked over at Dixie. "How are you holding up?"

Dixie leaned against the wall of the ambulance. "Don't worry about me. I'm tough." Her lips spread into a grin.

"Yeah," Roy chuckled. "We'll be there in a few minutes. Brackett will get you fixed up too."

"I know." Dixie looked over at Johnny. She noticed that his hands were still twitching beneath the blanket. "That must have been a strong dose of Halperidol. He's still trembling." She reached out and felt his forehead again. "His skin is hot and dry, classic symptoms. Did we tell Rampart about that?"

Roy looked at Dixie, concern etched on his face. Maybe that concussion was worse than he thought. "Yes we did. Don't you remember?" He watched as confusion ran across Dixie's features. Then she looked over at him and shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay. They know."

Dixie lifted a hand to her head and rubbed her temple. "I guess I forgot. My head really hurts."

"They can't give you anything until…"

"Roy Desoto, don't you quote protocol to me. I taught you remember?" Dixie grew agitated.

"I'm sorry. Just calm down, okay?" He reached out and patted her knee. "We're backing in now."

Before the ambulance came to a complete stop the doors were flung open and Brackett started barking orders. "Get Johnny into 3; I need a full blood work up, x-rays and get those clothes off him. I'll be in to cut that cast off in a second. Replace that bag with a new one." A flurry of activity took place outside the ambulance as the gurney was lifted into the upright position, and Roy climbed out of the ambulance holding the IV bag. The entourage quickly disappeared inside the automatic doors. "Come on Dixie, Joe is waiting for you in 4." He reached out to steady her as she stepped down from the ambulance. He guided her into the waiting wheel chair Betty had brought out for her. She swayed a little and felt his strong hands keep her upright. "Easy." He whispered close to her ear. "I've got you."

"Oh Kel," a sob escaped as she said his name. "It was horrible."


	17. Chapter 17

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 17

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Dixie felt Kel's strong arms pull her close against his chest. She felt his warmth, his comfort. His chin rested on top of her disheveled hair. She looked a mess and she knew it, but she didn't care. Normally she would have her perfectly applied mascara in place, but since they had been awakened in the middle of the night she now faced her colleagues without it. Maybe that was a good thing, because tears began sliding uncontrollably down her pale cheeks. Kel only held her tighter. "It's okay now. He can't hurt you anymore."

"H…how do y..y..you know." She sobbed. "H..ow can you b…be so sure?" The more she allowed Kel to cuddle her the more out of control she seemed to become. She trembled with her sobs. She reached up and grabbed onto his lab coat trying to keep him close. She didn't want him to let her go.

Kel could feel her composure slipping even further away as she sobbed in his arms. "Because I won't let him," he assured her. He rubbed his hand on her back, and she rested her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes. It was a very uncomfortable position for him, bending over like that for so long, but he would stay there as long as she needed him to.

Dixie sniffed and reached up to push the tears from her cheeks with a trembling hand. They needed to get inside to check on Johnny. She needed to pull herself together before anyone else saw how broken she really was. She pulled back and looked up into Kel's eyes, just looking, reassuring each other with a look. Kel brought his hand to her cheek and cupped her face. Slowly she smiled. "Thanks," she whispered.

"No thanks needed." He kissed the top of her head. "You ready?" Dixie nodded. "Okay let's get you in with Joe, and I'll get started on our boy."

"Kel?" Kel hesitated and waited for her to continue. "Never mind," she looked away.

"What is it, Dix?" He put his hand on her shoulder and leaned close. He wasn't used to his "in-control" head nurse being so emotional, but then again right now she was a patient and a friend in need.

"He thought I was his wife. She…she was a patient, a cancer patient. Johnny and Roy brought her in. There really wasn't any hope. She…She died. He's a very sick man, but…I mean, I know he killed a man, but he's hurting." Dixie stumbled over her words. "Johnny won't be able to live with himself if we don't try to help Jimmy. I don't want us to lose Johnny over this."

"We won't. I won't let that happen." He squeezed her shoulder. "I'll check on him when I'm finished with Johnny. Mike's in with him now." Kel knew that there was little chance of any need for that help. Jimmy had been shot at close range and the damage was great. The likelihood that he would even make it through the night, much less surgery, was slim. As a doctor that thought saddened him. As a friend he was almost relieved.

If Jimmy didn't survive it would be easier for Dixie and Johnny to put this all behind them. Sure it would be hard on them especially Johnny, knowing that Jimmy died even though he had tried to stop the bleeding. If he did survive, then knowing his friends, they would continue to be involved in trying to help the unfortunate man. Mentally handicapped or not, that man had kidnapped his friends and murdered an innocent bystander and that angered him. His friends didn't need to be tied to that kind of person no matter what good intentions they had, but the doctor would do everything in his power to see that the man lived to face his actions.

But first things first, Johnny needed him now. He pushed Dixie's wheelchair into the ER doors and directed another nurse to take her to Joe. He hurriedly moved to the door to Johnny's room and pushed it open. What he found inside the room just reaffirmed his belief that John Gage would do everything in his power to help his tormentor. Johnny's partially casted leg dangled from the side of the table, pieces of plaster falling off and dropping to the floor. Johnny's pants had already been cut away and his shirt had been cut open, but had not been completely removed. The sheet that had been spread over the lower half of his body had shifted and hung loosely, the corner pooling on the floor…the remainder barely covering anything.

"Relax Johnny…you need to lie back down." Roy had both hands on Johnny's shoulders trying to hold him down. Johnny was fighting against Roy with what little strength he had.

"You don't un'ersta..an Roy…he nee's help." Johnny ended his sentence with a painful moan. "Ahhh."

"Take it easy Junior. He'll get help. We'll help him, but first we need to take care of you. Okay?" Roy held firm to his friend.

Dr. Brackett moved over to the medicine cabinet and pulled out a vial handing it to the nurse. "Give him 5 mg." Then he walked over beside the exam table. "Okay Johnny, let me get a look at you."

Johnny still thrashed on the table. "Doc…you gotta help 'm. His wife…he thinks…killed her."

"I know, Johnny. I know." He placed his hand on Johnny's chest. He could feel the tremors that still plagued his friend. "He's in with Mike. Dixie's in with Joe. Let me see about you now." Johnny looked up at him and then closed his eyes. The nurse injected the medication into his IV port. Johnny's eyes flew open and his eyebrow arched. "Just a little something to help you relax. I don't want to give you too much with the Haloperidol that may still be in your system, but you need to calm down." He looked up at Roy who dropped his hands to his side and backed away leaning against the wall. He wouldn't leave. Not yet. They might need him. Johnny might need him.

In the next room Dr. Mike Morton had just finished giving instructions to the x-ray technician and duty nurse. He slipped from the room and hurried to the nurse's desk to make a call to the thoracic and vascular surgeons on call. His patient was bleeding out, and until they could open him up there was little he could do about it. He would step in to fill in as trauma surgeon, but he needed the x-rays to help pinpoint the damaged area. He'd already instructed the technician to deliver the films to the OR.


	18. Chapter 18

Voices of Conflict

Chapter 18

**By GCS & LK**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.**_

Johnny felt exhausted. He could feel the effects of the medication Brackett had given him immediately, or so he thought. Everything seemed so muddled…confusing. He felt jittery and restless, but tired…really tired.

Dr. Brackett looked over at Roy and motioned him back over. "I need to get that leg back up on the table. Based on the way the cast looks it's going to hurt a lot. I want you to be close in case I need you to help keep him on the table." He whispered to Roy who nodded his understanding and positioned himself beside the table. "Johnny, I'm going to move your leg." Johnny didn't give any indication that he had heard him. "Johnny can you hear me?" Dr. Brackett gently shook Johnny's shoulder. Johnny moaned a little and cracked his eyes open to a slit. "I'll take that as a yes." Dr. Brackett nodded to Roy and reached for Johnny's leg.

As he raised the leg up, damaged cast and all, the movement caused Johnny's eyes to spring open, and he tried to rise up off the table. A gasp and a weak scream let everyone in the room know how much the movement hurt. Roy leaned over his friend and grabbed his shoulders. "Okay, Junior, I know it hurts. I've got ya. It's all right now. Dr. Brackett is done for now. Take it easy; just calm down." He continued to speak calmly and softly. Johnny relaxed a little, but the restless movement of his hands and uninjured leg started again as he calmed. "Doc when will he stop the constant movement?"

Dr. Brackett looked at Roy and rolled his eyes. "Johnny not moving?"

Roy smiled. Dr. Brackett rarely made jokes about a patient, but then Johnny wasn't a 'normal' patient, in more ways than one. "Well yeah…I know, but the restlessness brought on by the drugs that guy gave him."

"I know what you meant Roy, but when has Johnny ever been still." Dr. Brackett patted Johnny on his good knee. "I think once we have everything figured out we can give him something to counteract some of it. I need to get X-ray down here to see about those bruises on his face. It looks like he was hit a few times, and really hard. I don't think anything is broken, but I want to be sure. From what I can tell his eyes are still in rough shape. We may need to wrap them again."

Even though he was in a fog and barely conscious, Johnny heard that comment. "NO! you…you can't…I…no."

"Johnny, you need to give your eyes time to finish healing." Dr. Brackett tried talking with him.

"I…I don't…I can't…you can't." Johnny gasped out. His body began trembling. A genuinely fearful look came across his face. He reached for Roy. "Don't let him…Please, I can't…no."

"Okay Johnny, we'll figure something out. Just calm down." Roy took Johnny's hand and gripped it for a minute then laid it back down on the table. He rested his hand on Johnny's arm. "Doc, we need to find another way. Maybe we could just keep the lights down low in his room."

"Maybe." Dr. Brackett flashed the lights in Johnny's eyes again. Johnny batted his hand away. "I know it's uncomfortable Johnny, but I need to see what's going on in there." He looked at Roy who took Johnny's hand in his again keeping it from batting Dr. Brackett's away.

Joe helped Dixie onto the exam table. She smiled at her dear friend "Don't say a word."

Joe cocked his head and smiled, "Me? Now Dixie, why would you think I would say anything about the lovely way you have your hair styled today?" Thankful for her friend's attempts at lightening her mood, Dixie reclined on the table. "Looks like you had an eventful night." Joe quipped as he leaned over his patient and looked into her eyes with his pen light. She tried to pull away, but his expert hands held her head still. "What did you hit your head on?"

"I think it was the table." She said quietly.

Joe stood up and looked at her. "You don't remember?" She nodded. "That's okay, you're obviously alert and oriented. What about nausea?"

"I felt queasy, but honestly that could have been due to stress."

"Uh huh." The corners of Joe's mouth curled up in a knowing smile. "So queasy…what about headache." He already knew the answer to that since her eyes were still squinting against the light in the room. He walked over and dimmed the overhead lights some.

"Yes."

Joe reached over and removed the pressure bandage from her arm. "Let's get a look at your arm before we get x-rays." Dixie tensed. "Does that hurt?"

"A little."

"Well I don't think it's too bad. I'll put in a few sutures. It'll be sore for a while."

"I know."

Joe patted her shoulder. He knew she had spent time in the service. She had shared some of her experiences with him over a bottle of wine several years ago. The more wine they drank, the more she opened up. Before the evening was over she had told him about the soldiers she couldn't save, and the time she was hit by a stray bullet. It had just been a graze then too. She had a scar across her shoulder. He hoped he could prevent her having another such battle scar, but he knew that the emotional scars were much deeper than the bullet graze would leave behind.

Dixie knew he understood. She closed her eyes. She could feel Joe working to numb her arm. Her mind returned to Johnny's ranch and the shadows that danced around the room as the lightning flashed. How Johnny had been able to move about so quietly with a broken leg amazed her. He had managed to get behind Jimmy and wrestle him for the gun. She shuddered as she remembered the shot and the burning sensation on her arm as she slammed against the wall. She could almost feel the warmth of the blood on her hand. She opened and closed her hand remembering the stickiness. In her mind she could see herself as she pulled herself up from the floor, her hand sliding down the wall before grabbing onto the door facing and pulling herself into the blackness. She remembered almost tripping down the stairs in the darkness, and the shuffling noises she was leaving behind. Fear gripped her again even though she knew she was safe and at Rampart. More gunshots and the groan of a man injured by the searing pain of a bullet at close range made her heart pound in her head.

Joe watched Dixie as she apparently fell into an exhausted sleep. He could see that she was dreaming and it didn't appear to be good dreams. He gently shook her. "Dix…come on, wake up for me."

Her eyes blinked. Salty tears slid down her cheeks. She looked up at Joe. "Sorry, I must have dozed off."

"You were dreaming."

"Remembering." She closed her eyes again.

"I'm going to step out and let Malcolm get some x-rays. I'll be right back." Dixie glanced at her arm and back up at Joe. "I'm all done with that." She smiled a little. She hadn't felt a thing. Joe really was good at what he did. Joe left leaving her with Malcolm.

Up in the OR a battle was being fought to stop the bleeding and repair the damage the bullet had caused for Jimmy. It was extensive. There was some kind of damage to most of his abdominal organs. Everyone in the surgical suite knew there was little hope the patient would survive, but most were not aware of his actions. They only knew the man was gravely injured, and it was their job to try to repair the damage.

Inside his head, in his medicinally induced state of oblivion, voices continued to berate him for his failure.

In his oblivion he saw his Amber calling him. She held out her hand and he reached for it.

"We're losing him." Dr. Morton stated with little emotion. He alone knew of the hurt the man had caused to his friends. He hated to lose a patient. He hated to lose at all, but this time maybe it wouldn't be so hard to deal with. This time he knew what the man was capable of. If he survived who else might he hurt? This time maybe it would be all right to let him go.

Three weeks later Johnny and Dixie were both home recovering from their ordeal. Dixie had decided to stay at the ranch with Johnny during their recovery. His eyes were completely healed now, but his broken leg was still in the new cast and would be for a few more weeks. Dixie's arm had healed with a very small scar. She stayed mostly to help Johnny, but she needed to work through the trauma as much as he did, and knowing Johnny like she did, she knew that he wouldn't talk to a professional. She appointed herself as his confidant.

Roy helped too. He had cleaned up the damage to the front room. The blood streaked wall had been repainted before Johnny got out of the hospital. The bullet holes patched and filled. The dent in the hallway wall had been spackled and smoothed out; the entire hallway repainted. His sofa pillows replaced so that the one with the hole in it was gone too. There was no physical evidence in Johnny's house that would remind them of their ordeal.

Her time at the ranch had given her a firsthand view of the depth of Johnny and Roy's friendship. Now she shared in that strong bond with them. She had always been close to her two favorite paramedics, but now she felt like family.

They had talked many times about their horrible experience. On the bright side they had both survived. Dixie knew the lengths that Johnny had gone to in order to protect her. Johnny knew that Dixie had put herself in danger for him, trying to keep Jimmy distracted when he thought she was his wife. The two friends had shared their feelings about it and came out stronger. They knew they would never forget that night, but somehow they would turn it into something positive.

The day before Dixie planned to go home Roy took them to the cemetery to find some closure. Johnny had made arrangements for Jimmy to be buried next to Amber. He knew her death was not his fault, but she had been another victim that he had not been able to save. Making sure her husband had a place beside her seemed the least he could do.

Dixie had made arrangements at Rampart for a newly organized support group for the families of patients of mental illness. Victims of abuse at the hands of the mentally handicapped were also welcomed to join.

Maybe with more understanding and support more people would be able to help the mentally impaired; offer the support they needed and understand the importance of their medications. Maybe if more people understood mental illness, others could be spared from the type of behavior that she and Johnny had been forced to witness from Jimmy.

Maybe.

The End.

Thanks to everyone who followed this story from beginning to end, and kept us going with your faithful reviews. When we started this journey it was supposed to be a fun little trip, but it grew into just over a year. And what a great time we've had. You really are part of the best fandom out there! HUGS!

Also, thank you LK for putting up with me through all of this. I really enjoyed our time together. You are the best! XOXOX


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